Hachis Parmentier (French Shepherd's Pie) flavorful and golden

Name: Hachis Parmentier (French Shepherd's Pie)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2.6 lb (1.2 kg) cooked beef from pot-au-feu or beef tails; 1.75 oz (50 g) flat parsley; 2 sweet onions (Roscoff type); 1.75 oz (50 g) fatty bacon; 0.4 cup (10 cl) red port wine; 1.1 oz (30 g) blonde breadcrumbs; 4 dl pot-au-feu broth; salt, freshly ground pepper; For the purée:; 2.2 lb (1 kg) floury potatoes (Samba or Bintje) just boiled in water; 4.25 oz (120 g) fine butter; 2 dl whole milk; salt and nutmeg

A recipe by Michelin-starred Chef Patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (12 reviews) · 🍳 7 made it

Hachis Parmentier (French Shepherd's Pie), quick to prepare — Photo : Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 20 min

Cook 60 min

Total 1h20

Servings 8 serv.

Hachis Parmentier is a clever way to use leftovers: beef from a pot-au-feu or cooked beef tails, finely minced with parsley and bacon. You reduce it in the oven with port wine and broth for 35 minutes. Then purée on the bottom, hash in the middle, purée on top, and bake until golden at 220 °C. Plan on about 1 hour 30 minutes of preparation and cooking. Serve with frisée salad and garlic croûtons.

Ingredients for 8 servings

Adjust for

servings

2.6 lb (1.2 kg) cooked beef from pot-au-feu or beef tails
1.75 oz (50 g) flat parsley
2 sweet onions (Roscoff type)
1.75 oz (50 g) fatty bacon
0.4 cup (10 cl) red port wine
1.1 oz (30 g) blonde breadcrumbs
4 dl pot-au-feu broth
salt, freshly ground pepper

For the purée:

2.2 lb (1 kg) floury potatoes (Samba or Bintje) just boiled in water
4.25 oz (120 g) fine butter
2 dl whole milk
salt and nutmeg

Step-by-step recipe

1 Make a classic purée with 2.2 lb (1 kg) of potatoes boiled in their skins in salted water, then peeled, quickly passed through a fine-grid mill, dried over heat, then enriched with 4.25 oz (120 g) of fine butter cut into small dice and 2 dl of hot milk, salted and nutmegged.

2 Chop the cooked beef with the parsley and bacon using a knife, then season with fine salt and freshly ground pepper.

3 Thinly slice the 2 onions, then sweat them in butter without browning and let them cook gently covered for 10 minutes. Season.

4 Preheat the oven to 355°F (180 °C) (gas mark 6).

5 Add the port wine to your onion base and continue cooking for 5 minutes, then pour in the beef broth. Once boiling, transfer the minced meat and bake covered for 35 minutes in the oven.

6 When you remove your preparation from the oven, there should be no liquid left, but the mixture should be tender.

7 Now increase your oven temperature to 430°F (220 °C) (gas mark 7).

8 In a terracotta or porcelain dish, spread a layer of purée, then a layer of meat, then finish with a layer of purée. If you like, create a small wavy pattern with a spatula, cover with breadcrumbs and scatter small pieces of butter over the top. Put in the hot oven to bake until golden.

9 Serve for example with a small frisée salad and croûtons, that is to say garlic croûtons.

This hachis Parmentier recipe can, using the purée as a base, be varied endlessly: with fish, scallops, pan-fried foie gras, game, etc.

My favorite hachis Parmentier recipe: with purée, black pudding, sliced fresh apples and a few slices of duck foie gras.

A chef's advice

Hachis Parmentier is a lazy Sunday kind of dish, when you have time and you want to transform the leftovers from a pot-au-feu into something else entirely. It was born in Paris in the 19th century, named after the pharmacist Parmentier who introduced the potato to France. Once, it was a dish of Parisian bourgeois cooking, but today we're rediscovering it because it's honest, inexpensive, and just needs a bit of care.

It's really an autumn and winter dish, especially when floury potatoes (Samba or Bintje) are at their best. Sweet onions like Roscoff work beautifully with it, melted down without browning. No ingredient is hard to find: leftover boiled meat from Saturday, bacon from the market, regular red port wine.

For wine, go for a light-bodied red, a Beaujolais village, a young Côtes du Rhône. Avoid overly delicate wines, the purée and breadcrumb topping need a wine that stands up well. A red Sancerre can work, a white Meursault too if you prefer to stay white.

For serving, frisée salad with garlic croûtons is the rule. A few leaves of slightly bitter salad, croûtons rubbed with garlic and fried in butter. Nothing else. And by the way, the recipe lends itself to endless variations: with black pudding and slices of duck foie gras, with scallops, game, fish. It's a foundation, not a prison.

Frequently asked questions

Can you replace the port with another wine?

Yes. Port brings sweetness. Try dry Madeira or dry white wine like Sancerre if you find port too sweet. Same amount, same result. Avoid tannic red Bordeaux, it hardens the dish.

How long does hachis Parmentier keep in the fridge?

Three days max, well covered. Freeze before gratin: hermetic wrapping, 2 months max. Slow thaw in fridge (12 hours) before gratin. Don't freeze after cooking, texture turns grainy.

How do you prevent minced meat from being too moist after oven cooking?

The stock should reduce in the oven normally, but if juice remains at step 6, raise temperature to 220°C from start and uncover last 10 minutes. Meat must crumble, not swim. If wet, the gratin won't crisp properly.