Hachis Parmentier
This pub-style meal packed with rich,comforting flavors, this Hachis Parmentier is a must-try. It features minced lamb (or ground beef, if you prefer!) and sausage, simmered in stout with mirepoix(carrots, onions, and celery), rosemary, and thyme. Topped with buttery, cheesy mashed potatoes, it bakes up into a golden, bubbling dish that’s perfect dinner for two.
Servings: 2 to 3
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ cup onion, chopped
- 1 small carrot, trimmed, peeled, chopped (about ¼ cup)
- 1 small celery stalk, trimmed, chopped
- 1 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves minced
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ½ pound 85 percent lean ground beef or ground lamb
- ½ pound pork sausage mild, removed from casings if necessary
- ½ cup stout beer like Guiness or substitute beef bone broth
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and freshly ground pepper
For the potato topping:
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes , peeled
- 1 sprigs of rosemary
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus ½ tablespoon butter, cut into bits
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup Gruyere , Comté, or Emmental, grated
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese Optional
Instructions
To make the filling:
- Put a heavy bottom skillet like a cast iron skillet (8 or 10 inches) or a small 2 quart Dutch oven over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. When it’s hot add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan. Sprinkle vegetables with ¼ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Sauté just until translucent and soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and tomato paste, stirring to mix everything together. Sauté for about 30 seconds just until the garlic begins to take on some color. Now add the ground beef and sausage, breaking up the clumps of meat, until the beef and sausage are just pink. Add bay leaf. Stir in ½ cup of stout and bring to a boil. You want just enough stout in the pan to moisten the filling and to bubble up gently wherever there's a little room: if you think you need more, add just a smidgen. Season with salt and pepper, especially pepper. Cover with lid or tightly with aluminum foil; set aside while you prepare the potatoes. You can make the dish to this point up to a few hours ahead; cover the casserole with foil and refrigerate.
To make the topping
- Put the potatoes and rosemary sprig in a large pot of generously salted cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife or tines of a fork, about 20 minutes, drain them well.
- Meanwhile, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
- Warm the milk and cream. Remove rosemary sprig and mash the potatoes using a potato masher or a hand blender, until just smooth. Using a wooden spoon or a sturdy spatula, stir in the milk and cream, then blend in the 1.5 Tablespoons of butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove bay leaf from filling and then spoon the potatoes over the filling, spreading them evenly and making sure they reach to the edges of the pot. Sprinkle the grated Gruyere, Comté or Emmenthal over the top of each pie, dust with the Parmesan, and scatter the bits of butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling, steadily and the potatoes have developed a golden-brown crust.
Notes
From Amercia’s Test Kitchen the science behind why your mashed potatoes may be "gummy": Cooking causes the starch granules within the potato cells to absorb water and swell. Some cells will inevitably burst, releasing tacky gel that helps give mashed potatoes their cohesiveness. But if too much gelled starch seeps out of the cells, either from overcooking or too-vigorous mashing (or both), gumminess ensues.