thefoodlessprocessed

Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was a pharmacist, agronomist, and food scientist. His work reflects how science may positively contribute to a traditional culinary food system. He is the person largely responsible for making the potato accepted in French cuisine.

Many dishes that include potatoes have been named in his honor.

Note; Ground beef may replace the lamb: Hachis Parmentier de bœuf.

The less processed ingredients in this version of Hachis Parmentier d’agneau include: Lamb, Beef (if you prefer), Butter, Chapelure (French-Style Breadcrumbs), Milk, Bacon, Vegetables, Fresh Parsley, Parsley, Rosemary, Vegetable Stock, Preserved Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Flour.

Equipment for the Meat Filling and for Assembling the Pie

• a Large Heavy Pan with High Sides. This filling is made in a 12-inch (30.5 cm) Cast Iron Chicken Fryer with a 4.25 quart capacity (about 4 liters) and a black interior. A close European equivalent is a Sauteuse Haute, which has high sides and a long handle. It is deeper than a regular sauté pan.
• a Cutting Board and Large All-Purpose Knife or a Food Processor with a Blade Attachment
• a Spatula or Wooden Spoon
• a Tart-Pan-Style Ovenproof Baking Dish with Vertical Sides (The dish in the photo has an 11-inch base (about 28 cm) and is 2-inches deep (5 cm).
• a Flat Spatula or a Butter Knife for smoothing the potato topping over the filling
• a Baking Pan lined with Aluminum Foil: If the pan is not rimmed, turn the edges of the foil up around the baking pan rather than under. The purpose of the pan is to prevent any sauce from the pie bubbling down into the oven.

Equipment for the Mashed Potato Topping

• a Large Pot (8 quarts/7.5 liters or thereabout) and Lid
• a Food Mill or Hand Masher (Either a food mill or hand masher makes mashed potatoes well. Mashing in a mixer or food processor will overwork the potatoes and may turn them into a gluey paste.)
• a Small, Heavy-Bottomed Pot
• a Wooden Spoon
• a Large Bowl
• a Flat Spatula or Knife to spread the topping

Ingredients for the Filling

• 1 and 1/2 pounds of Organic Ground Lamb or Beef
• 2 Slices of Sugarless Bacon, cooked in the large pan and crumbled. Leave the fat in the pan.
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, rather finely chopped
• 1 Organic Carrot, rather finely chopped
• 1 Stalk of Organic Celery, rather finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup of Yellow Onion (about 80 g), rather finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of Unenriched White Flour (European Soft Wheat or American Hard Wheat)
• 1/2 Cup of Dry Red Wine (120 ml), and perhaps a little more
• 1 cup of Homemade Vegetable Stock. (240 ml) The recipe is here on thefoodlessprocessed: Vegetable Stock.
• 1 Tablespoon of Organic Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
• a handful of Fresh Organic Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, rather finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of Homemade Tomato Sauce, and perhaps a little more
• 3 Tablespoons of Salted Butter
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Ingredients for the Mashed Potato Topping

• 3 pounds (1.36 kg) of Unpeeled Russet Potatoes or any variety with a dry texture
• 1 cup of Whole Milk (240 ml)
• 4 Tablespoons of Salted Butter
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Freshly ground Black Pepper

Ingredients for Assembling the Pie

• about 1/3 plus 1/4 cups of Homemade Chapelure (aka Fine French-style Breadcrumbs) (35 to 40 g plus 25 to 30 g). Here is the recipe on thefoodlessprocessed: Chapelure ~ a French way with Breadcrumbs. Any fine, dry breadcrumbs may be substituted.
• 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter, melted (14 g)

Making the Meat Filling

• In the large pan, fry the bacon. Drain it, crumble it and reserve it. Leave the fat in the pan.
• Add the 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Add the chopped garlic, carrot, celery and onion and sauté until the onion begins to brown at the edges.
• Add the lamb or beef and cook, breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink and begins to brown.
• Add the bacon and mix everything together well.
• Sprinkle the flour over the meat mixture and blend it in. Cook the mixture a minute or two more, stirring, to blend in the flour and cook it.
• Add the red wine. Stir it in and add the vegetable stock.
• Cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir it occasionally to check its consistency and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan as it thickens.
• Add the tomato sauce. Cook a little longer until the mixture has become a thick-well-blended meat sauce. The sauce will be a rich, dark brown. If it is light in colour, add a little more wine and tomato sauce. Add the rosemary and parsley and some freshly ground black pepper and set it aside while making the potato topping.

Making the Mashed Potato Topping

• Heat the milk and butter together in the small pot and reserve it.
• Place the unpeeled potatoes in the large pot and cover them with water. Boil them until they are tender. Drain them.
• Place the food mill over the top of the large bowl.
• Remove the skins from the potatoes. Run them, a few at a time, through the food mill using the medium-sized disc, or mash them with the masher. Repeat until all the potatoes are broken up into a fairly smooth, dry mash.
• Reheat the milk and butter if necessary. Add a portion of the liquid and work it in with the wooden spoon. The potatoes absorb the liquid. Adding the milk and butter a bit at a time allows you to control the consistency. You can always add a little more liquid to a stiff mixture, but you can’t make wet mashed potatoes dryer.
• Stir in the beaten egg and add some freshly ground black pepper.

Assembling and Baking the Pie

• Preheat the oven to 400 F (205 C) and set the oven rack on the middle level.
• Butter the baking dish well and sprinkle 1/3 cup of chapelure (or other fine dry bread crumbs) over the bottom and up the sides.
• Transfer the meat filling to the dish.
• Spoon mounds of the potato topping onto the meat filling. With a metal flat-blade spatula or a butter knife, join the mounds together into a single layer that covers the filling, using a swirling motion. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chapelure (or fine breadcrumbs) over the top and drizzle the 1 tablespoon (14 g) of melted butter over it.

• Place the pie on the foil-lined baking pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned and crisped and the sauce bubbling up at the sides indicates that it is very hot.