An altogether different (for me anyway) way to use left over turkey. And it will likely become a favorite. Made especially easy because I was able to use our Thanksgiving turkey meat, and left over mashed potatoes too, which were taking up space in my refrigerator.
Not knowing anything about the history of the French word Parmentier, I looked it up online, only to find that, in culinary terms it means a potato on top, almost like a shepherd’s pie, or a cottage pie. The dish is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist, nutritionist, and inventor who, in the late 18th century, was instrumental in the promotion of the potato as an edible crop. So, that’s why (per wikipedia). The hachis part means chopped meat.
I read the recipe over at Susan Herrmann Loomis’ blog, On Rue Tatin. If you don’t know about her, you should. She’s an American, but went to live in France a long time ago now, wrote a book about her culinary experiences (very cute) including meeting her husband (I see that she doesn’t mention her husband on her About page, so perhaps she’s divorced now . . . don’t know . . . but she does have a couple of children). She lives in Normandy in the little town of Louviers, gives English-speaking cooking classes regularly if you’re interested and has written about 12 cookbooks.
My version of this – from the picture above – is a much more wet casserole – not exactly soupy, but certainly it oozed all over the plate. My mashed potatoes were very soft to begin with. But that made no difference to the flavor.
One of the things that stood out in my mind as I was reading Susan’s blog, was her little quip that “ . . . . sprinkling Gruyere cheese on almost everything that goes in the oven is a French custom. . .” Having visited the Gruyere cheese factory (a very small place considering the volume of cheese sold ‘round the world with its name on it – hence I always buy the imported, the “real” Gruyere), and since I had a chunk of the cheese in my refrigerator already, it was a no-brainer I’d make this.
It took about 10 minutes to create the casserole: first I sautéed the onion (Susan used a red onion, I used a yellow) in a bit of oil and butter. While that cooked briefly I shredded the turkey meat and shredded the Gruyere. Into the casserole dish went the mostly cooked onion with a tiny sprinkling of cheese (I was remembering Susan’s comment about the cheese). I sprinkled the top with a little bit of salt, pepper and a light dusting of powdered bay leaf. Then I added all the turkey meat, with another light sprinkling of cheese. I drizzled the cream on top of that and added the little bit of turkey gravy (her recipe has you add stock – I used the gravy because I had a bunch in the refrigerator and never seem to know what to do with it except in reheated left over Thanksgiving dinner). Then using my hands to mush and squish the cold mashed potatoes, I gently placed the potatoes on top and tried to cover it barely and completely. I wanted a solid potato covering, but I didn’t want it to be thick, so I gently pushed and shoved the potatoes so it would be a solid slate of them. If you have youngsters to feed, you’ll likely want a much deeper potato layer, which is fine! The bulk of the grated cheese goes on top of the potatoes. Make sure the casserole is deep enough that the potatoes aren’t heaped above the edge or you’ll have a bit of bubbling overflow. Fortunately I put the casserole on another pan so the drips didn’t burn up in the oven!
We had pan-roasted Brussels sprouts with this, but any green veg would be fine, or even a salad. You could – I’m sure – use some left over veg inside this dish (like peas or broccoli) but I wanted to make it as true to Susan’s recipe as I could. I did make a few changes, but I hope they did nothing but enhance the flavors rather than detract from them!
One little caveat: I used the best-est turkey chunks (both breast and dark meat) from our kosher bird, which was super-moist and tender; I used the left over mashed potatoes which contained cream cheese, so they were rich-rich already. I used ample cheese (maybe more than Susan did – I didn’t weigh it – she used 2 ounces for a larger casserole, I think). I did use heavy cream, although I just added it into the meat section (not used in the potatoes as she did). Just know that it’s rich in fat grams. Oh, I’d make it again in a second! But then, shepherd’s pie, which is so very similar to this, is also a particular favorite flavor-taste for me.
What’s GOOD: oh gosh, was this ever fantastic. For me – it’s all about the CHEESE. It absolutely “makes” this dish, in my opinion. Gruyere has such a unique flavor – it’s not a straight eating kind of cheese (at least not to me) but has a kind of sharp, yet deep nutty quality to it. I use some Gruyere or Emmental in my cheese fondue recipe because it’s just the best combo for flavor. Anyway, the flavor in this dish is over-the-top delicious! This is going to go onto my list of Carolyn’s favs, and will be added to my usual Thanksgiving roundup under the section of left overs.
What’s NOT: not a single, solitary thing. It IS rich. Decadent, I suppose. A splurge in the calorie department.
printer-friendly CutePDF
Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook14 (click to open in MC)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Turkey Hachis Parmentier
Recipe By: Adapted from On Rue Tatin (blog)
Serving Size: 4
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion — halved, very thinly sliced
3 cups cooked turkey — shredded
1/2 cup turkey gravy
1/3 cup heavy cream
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground bay leaf
2 cups mashed potatoes — left over, seasoned with milk, salt and pepper
1 cup Gruyere cheese — grated
Notes: Shred (rather than cube) the turkey meat to give a wonderful texture to the dish. Sprinkling Gruyere cheese on almost everything that goes in the oven is a French custom and is entirely optional, but the flavor will be SO enhanced with the cheese.
1. Melt the butter and oil in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan over medium heat. When it is heated, add the onions and stir so they are coated with the fat; cover, and cook until they are tender and translucent, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently so they don’t stick. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
3. When the onions are cooked, transfer them to a medium-sized baking dish, and spread them evenly across the bottom. Top with the shredded turkey. Drizzle gravy and cream over all. Sprinkle just a little bit of cheese over the turkey.
4. Spread the potatoes over the turkey in an even layer. If the potatoes are cold, mash them gently in your fingers and drop pieces over the turkey, filling in the holes without mashing down the potatoes. It’s okay if the top is craggy but it should be completely covered. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese, and bake in the center of the oven until the cheese and the potatoes are slightly golden, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.
Per Serving: 522 Calories; 31g Fat (53.0% calories from fat); 42g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 147mg Cholesterol; 591mg Sodium.
Leave a Comment!