Dominique Crenn’s Vegetable Parmentier Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Dec 21, 2022 • 6 min read
Hachis Parmentier is a classic French dish of ground beef stew topped with cheesy mashed potatoes. In this vegetarian interpretation, Chef Dominique Crenn swaps the meat for glazed seasonal vegetables.
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Meet Dominique Crenn
Dominique Crenn is an award-winning chef and advocate for sustainability and equity in the culinary world. Though she is now among the world’s most celebrated chefs, her path to culinary greatness was not without its challenges. After being turned away from many French culinary schools due to antiquated opinions about female chefs, Chef Crenn set out for California, where she forged her own culinary identity rooted in personhood, memories, and mindfulness.
In San Francisco, Chef Crenn opened Atelier Crenn, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant where diners receive a poem instead of a menu, with each dish represented by a line of poetry. Chef Crenn describes her food philosophy as “poetic culinaria.”
What Is Parmentier?
“Parmentier” means “prepared with potatoes,” a reference to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737–1813), a French agronomist and apothecary who championed the humble potato. Amidst food shortages in France, Parmentier penned his Treatise on the Culture and Use of Potatoes (1789), which helped popularize potatoes in Europe.
The most famous French dish to bear his name is Hache Parmentier, a preparation of ground beef and pomme purée (mashed potatoes) topped with grated cheese and cooked in a baking dish until golden brown, similar to cottage pie or shepherd’s pie. (Learn the difference between cottage pie vs. shepherd’s pie.)
About Dominique Crenn’s Vegetable Parmentier Recipe
When Chef Crenn was a child, her family enjoyed Hachis Parmentier (French beef and potato casserole) as a Sunday dinner. This recipe is a vegetarian spin on the classic dish that she enjoys making with her daughters. Instead of ground beef, the potatoes blanket a layer of glazed seasonal vegetables.
3 Tips for Making Dominique Crenn’s Vegetable Parmentier
Chef Crenn’s Vegetable Parmentier recipe is easy enough for a weeknight but has the same elevated flavors you’d expect from the culinary icon. Here’s how to make it shine:
- 1. Save vegetable scraps for stock. Chef Crenn says that you can “use everything,” or every part of an ingredient in your cooking. Keep a container in the door of your freezer and add scraps to it while you’re cooking throughout the week; when it’s convenient, throw the scraps in a pot for a base that’ll amplify and elevate your next vegetable dish. Using the whole ingredient is part of the wisdom of ancient and modern cuisine: Scraps from one meal become fodder for another, contributing depth and building richness through layers of flavor that evoke memories and tell a story. For this preparation, Chef Crenn recommends including celery and even more aromatics, but your particular mix of vegetables and herbs depends on your preference and what is available.
- 2. Always include alliums. The vegetables in this dish can change seasonally, but you’ll want to consistently include onion or leek for their aromatic qualities.
- 3. Different vegetables require different cook times. As always, be mindful of the cook times for each ingredient: In general, denser vegetables—carrots, beets, winter squash—will need more time on the stove than broccoli, peppers, and summer squash. The goal is for each vegetable to have a toothsome texture that will contrast with the mashed potatoes and melted cheese.
How to Make Dominique Crenn’s Vegetable Parmentier
Make the pomme purée (mashed potaotes). For the smoothest texture, Chef Crenn passes the potatoes through a ricer or food mill before adding the butter.
Make the glazed-vegetable filling by dicing carrots and zucchini and cooking them in a mixture of oil and vegetable stock.
Assemble the parmentier by spooning the glazed vegetables into a ramekin, followed by the pomme purée and cheese. Bake the parmentier in a 375-degree oven until the cheese bubbles and begins to brown.
Dominique Crenn’s Vegetable Parmentier Recipe
makes
prep time
40 mintotal time
2 hr 30 mincook time
1 hr 50 minIngredients
For the vegetable stock:
For the mashed potatoes (pommes purée):
For the glazed vegetables:
For assembly:
Make the vegetable stock:
- 1
In a large stockpot set over medium heat, bring 6 quarts of filtered water to a simmer.
- 2
Add the leek, garlic, parsley, carrot, onion, and celery to the stockpot, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- 3
Add the thyme, peppercorn, and bay leaves, then simmer for 10 minutes more.
- 4
Raise the heat, bringing the liquid to a boil.
- 5
Once the liquid boils, remove the pot from the heat. Strain the stock through a chinois into a large container or pot.
- 6
Discard the strained vegetables.
- 7
Transfer the stock to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You will need ⅔ cup of vegetable stock to make the glazed vegetables; reserve the remaining stock for another use.
Make the mashed potatoes:
- 1
Use a peeler to peel the potatoes, then roughly cut them into small chunks.
- 2
Place the potatoes in a medium pot, and cover them with at least 1 inch of cold water.
- 3
Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium to maintain a simmer.
- 4
Cook the potatoes until they feel soft and tender when tested with a knife, about 15–20 minutes.
- 5
In a small saucepan, warm the milk over medium-low heat, but do not bring the liquid to a boil.
- 6
Using a spider skimmer, scoop the potatoes out of the water and strain them, letting all of the water drain out.
- 7
Empty any excess water from the pot.
- 8
After draining the potatoes, place them back in the pot.
- 9
Mash the potatoes with a ricer or handheld potato masher. If you’re using a ricer: Working in batches, transfer the potatoes to the ricer. Pass them through the ricer into a large bowl, then add the butter. If you’re using a handheld potato masher: Add the butter to the pot of potatoes, and mash the ingredients with the potato masher.
- 10
Gradually whisk the warm milk into the potato-butter mash.
- 11
If the texture is too thick, add warm water by the tablespoon until you achieve your desired consistency.
- 12
Season the potatoes to taste with fleur de sel or kosher salt and white or black pepper.
- 13
For an optional smoother texture: Use a pastry scraper to scrape the potato mixture, roughly 1 cup at a time, through a tamis (fine sieve) into a large bowl.
- 14
Keep the potatoes warm until you’re ready to serve.
Make the glazed vegetables:
- 1
In one medium pan set over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- 2
Add the diced carrots or other root vegetables to the warm oil, and cook them until tender, about 10 minutes.
- 3
In a second medium pan set over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- 4
Add the minced onion or leek to the warm oil, and cook it until it browns, about 7 minutes.
- 5
In a third medium pan set over medium heat, warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
- 6
Add the diced summer squash to the warm oil, and cook until they brown, about 10 minutes.
- 7
In a large pan set over low heat, combine the cooked vegetables from the three medium pans.
- 8
Add ⅔ cup of vegetable stock, and cook, occasionally stirring, until the vegetables absorb the liquid almost entirely, about 5 minutes.
- 9
After 5 minutes, season the vegetables to taste with fleur de sel or kosher salt and pepper.
Assemble and bake the Parmentier:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or preheat the broiler.
- 2
Butter the gratin dish or ramekins, then spoon a layer of vegetables into the bottom of the dish or each ramekin.
- 3
Spoon a layer of mashed potatoes on top of the vegetables, then smooth out the potatoes with a fork.
- 4
Cover the mashed potatoes layer with grated cheese.
- 5
Bake the Vegetable Parmentier in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, until the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Alternatively, brown the cheese in the broiler.
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