Posts Tagged ‘food in france’

In France, this mashed potato casserole gets the fancy name of Hachis Parmentier. It’s a quick and easy dinner to prepare, yet still very typically French. And since it’s French, it comes with a wonderful story that you can entertain your family with at the dinner table.

Introducing Monsieur Parmentier

Antoine Parmentier was a Frenchman that lived during the 18th and early 19th century. A pharmacist by training, he spent many years serving in the Seven Year War, and was imprisoned in Germany. It was during this incarceration that he discovered the nutritional virtues of the potato. (The tuber had previously been brought to Europe from South America, but had spent several hundred years languishing in the vegetable garden, disdained by the people and even prohibited by the government.) When he returned from the war, it was to a nation that was starving.

It was Parmentier who saw in the humble potato the solution to France’s hunger problems. Through a long and genius marketing campaign, Parmentier single handedly changed the French peoples’ ideas about the potato, turning it into a significant food source for the starving population. Parmentier courted the French king, Louis XVI, in his efforts and even got the wife of the king, Marie Antoinette, to wear potato flowers in her hair. Parmentier was a brilliant scientist who spent his life working to improve the food quality of his nation and it is most appropriate that his name is synonymous with potatoes in French cooking.

Onto the Mashed Potato Casserole Recipe

For this recipe I recommend you use instant mashed potatoes, because that’s what makes mashed potato casserole so quick and easy to prepare. Do use a high quality instant mashed potato however — all it should have in it is potatoes. Read your labels.

The recipe here is for a fairly typical French version of Hachis Parmentier, but feel free to change the vegetables, seasoning, and even the meat in this recipe. Hachis Parmentier is extremely versatile.

Mashed Potato Casserole

• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence or other herbs
• salt and pepper (to your taste)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 4 – 5 cups mashed potatoes (instant is fine)
• 3/4 cup grated cheese (gruyre, emmental, or swiss)

In a large frying pan, cook the onions and garlic in the butter and olive oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, ground beef, herbs, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is browned thoroughly. Turn off heat and add egg yolk and Parmesan cheese, stirring to mix completely.

Spread the meat in the bottom of an lightly oiled oven proof dish (a 13 X 9 inch Pyrex dish would be perfect for the amount given in this recipe). Spread the potatoes on top of this and finish by sprinkling grated cheese on top.

Brown in 400 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Author: Kim Steele
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Pressure Cooker

You have the sniffles and are suffering from a nasty cold; you had a really tough day at the office and are totally stressed; you have just experienced a romantic breakup and are suffering the pain of a broken heart. For many of us, the only source of comfort may be food.

Comfort food is the food we turn to for temporary relief from stress, illness and a need to feel warm and secure. The thought of it gives us a feeling of comfort and well being. Comfort food is food that makes you feel good. It is likely that as small children we latched on to a specific food or home cooking in a way similar to reaching for and holding on to a security blanket.

Comfort food is simply prepared and is most often served warm with a gravy thick texture. It is usually food with high carbohydrate content such as rice, beans or pasta. In Asian countries where rice is a mainstay food source, the comfort food is called juk. It is a mixture of rice and water cooked for many hours until it has a mush-like texture like a porridge. Juk is usually eaten with vegetables, pork, fish, shrimp or turkey mixed into it like a rice stew. In the U.S. every region has favorite foods but the universal comfort food in the U.S. is macaroni and cheese.

We know that the French are meticulous about the preparation and presentation of food. Therefore, it is no surprise that they would deny parenting any French dish that resembles a simple stew made of leftovers. Pierre Smets, chef/owner of Christophe Restaurant in Sausalito, CA, denies the existence of comfort food in France. He explains that in France, there is regional food or traditional food but not comfort food like macaroni and cheese.

In about 1400, English troops were about to overrun the small army defending a town in southern France. It was a cold and wet night and a major final battle was expected the next day. The citizens of the town banned together in one last effort to defeat the English. The local residents pooled all of their remaining food supplies of beans, ham, duck, lamb, onions, and sausage tomatoes. They combined all of these foods into large cooking pots and created a feast for their outnumbered soldiers. The casserole was both nourishing and inspirational. The troops were well fed and ready for the battle which ensued the next day. They defeated the British and drove them from the town of Carcasson, home of the cassoulet.

Ironically, Pierre Smets was born in Carcasson. And, during the rainy months in Sausalito, CA, Smets prepares a delicious cassoulet using a secret recipe given to him by his grandmaman. Of course, this is not a simple dish. The beans must soak for several days, the lamb and duck and sausages are the best quality. Pierre may call it traditional, but to me, if it looks like it, and tastes like it, and makes you feel good, it is comfort food.

Author: Ken Baker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Times