The Prison Food That Became a French Classic

This classic French comfort food is like a luxurious shepherd’s pie, packed with rich, slow-cooked beef, silky mashed potatoes, and deep umami flavours. In this video, we’ll walk you through every step to make the best Hachis Parmentier at home like a chef. VIDEO CHAPTERS 00:00 - The Prison Food Served to Royals 00:12 - Preparing the Beef 01:35 - Preparing the Vegetables 02:16 - Preparing the Mix 07:11 - Mashing the Potatoes 09:10 - Assembling the Hachis Parmentier 11:42 - Tasting! RECIPE Braised Beef 1.5kg Beef cheek 375ml Red wine (Bordeaux-style, not too sweet) 2L Beef stock (gelatinous, reduce if using store-bought) 2 Carrots (cut into large chunks) 2 Celery sticks (roughly chopped) 1 Onion (quartered, root left on) ½ Garlic bulb 30g Tomato paste Herbs (thyme, bay leaf) Salt & pepper Method: Trim excess silver skin from the beef cheeks. Season well. Sear the beef on high heat until deep brown, then place on top of the mirepoix in the pot. Deglaze the pan with red wine, then add beef stock. Scrape the fond. Cover and cook at 160°C for 4 hours. Cool the meat in the stock before shredding. Hachis Parmentier Sauce & Meat Mix: 2 Onions (1-2 cm dice) 2 Carrots (1-2 cm dice) 2 Celery sticks (1-2 cm dice) Mushrooms (finely chopped into a duxelles) 130g Beurre manié (65g butter, 65g flour) 10g Fresh tarragon & thyme (chopped) Salt & pepper Potato Topping: 3 Desirée potatoes (baked on a bed of salt) 100g Butter 30ml Whole milk Nutmeg (grated) Grated cheese (Cheddar or Gruyère) Salt Method: Dice onions, carrots, celery (Parmentier cut). Finely chop mushrooms (duxelles). Sweat onions, then add other veg and cook for 5 minutes. Add shredded beef and stock. Stir in beurre manié and simmer for 15 minutes. Finish with fresh tarragon and thyme. Scoop out potatoes and pass through a ricer or drum sieve. Mix with butter, milk, and nutmeg. Pipe mashed potatoes over the beef mix. Sprinkle cheese. Bake at 180-200°C for 15-25 minutes until golden.