Hachis Parmentier
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The Hachis Parmentier is a popular French dish whose two main ingredients are mashed potato and beef mince. The latter is most frequently made from lean meat that was already cooked and served as part of another meal a few days before, typically roast or boiled beef. It is regularly served for school dinner in France as it is cheap, easy to prepare in large quantity and very popular with children. The word Hachis means mince in French and stems from the word Hache which means axe. This dish is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French scientist who was instrumental in spreading the cultivation of the potato in France in the late eighteenth century.
The Recipe
The dish is similar to a cottage pie except that it is never done with fresh beef mince. For the best result use the beef leftovers from your Sunday roast that you have re-roasted on Monday, had cold on Tuesday and forgot in the fridge on Wednesday. Grind the meat and mix it with chopped French parsley. Prepare mashed potato, mixed with a bit of milk, cream or butter according to taste and seasoned with ground nutmeg. Put half the mash in a layer at the bottom of a roasting dish, cover with the beef and parsley in a second layer, and add the remaining mash as a third layer on top. You can cover the top with a layer of grated cheese if you wish. Bake the Hachis Parmentier for about 20 minutes at gas mark 7 (220°C). Serve with a few leaves of salads and tell your kids the following anecdote during the meal.The anecdote of the soldiers
An interesting anecdote is how Parmentier convinced French farmers to start growing (and eating) the humble spud. Indeed, in the late eigtheenth century, before the French revolution, it was commonly believed that the potato was not edible and even caused disease such as leprosy. Parmentier ordered a potato field to be planted and surrounded by guards, but only during the day. Hence, enticing the farmers' greed, who came at night to steal the tubers and grew them in their own field.A quote
Si, un jour, je commettais un meurtre, je me débarrasserais du corps en faisant des plats cuisinés. Parce que, quand on jette un bras dans une poubelle, il y a toujours quelqu'un pour s'en rendre compte et on se fait cravater; alors que, si on jette un restant de hachis Parmentier, au pire, les gens disent que c'est du gaspillage, mais n'appellent pas la police pour autant! (Jean Yanne)
[Entry in the French Wikipedia]
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