Vegetarian Hachi Parmentier (vegan option)

Here is a great classic of French cuisine revisited without meat: the Vegetarian Hachi Parmentier! The hachi parmentier is certainly one of the 10 most cooked dishes of the French cuisine.

Why so much success? Because it’s a festive dish that can be prepared in large quantities and is generally enjoyed by everyone! With this recipe, you can offer a Hachi Parmentier to all your friends, even those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet!

What is a Hachi Parmentier?

If you are French, you certainly know what a hachi parmentier is, but as this blog is also aimed at German and international readers, I would like to explain what this cult dish of French cuisine is and where it comes from.

The hachi parmentier is a traditional dish of the French cuisine. “Hachi” means ground or finely chopped ingredients. “Parmentier” is the name of the inventor of this dish: Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a 19th century pharmacist and agronomist who had an important role in the introduction and popularization of the potato in France.

Hachi Parmentier is simply ground meat, traditionally beef, covered with mashed potatoes. The whole is then baked in the oven and served so that we obtain a part composed on the top of mashed potatoes and underneath of hachi or ground meat.

Purists don’t add cheese on top of the mashed potatoes, but if you are a foody like me, you can add grated cheese!

The version I propose is a vegetarian version, therefore without meat. I replaced the meat with a mixture of tofu and chopped mushrooms that I seasoned with garlic, thyme, rosemary, smoked paprika and soy sauce. It’s so good! The rest of the recipe is inspired by the traditional recipe.

Recipe for Vegetarian Hachi Parmentier

For 4 servings you need the following ingredients.

Ingredients

For the mashed potatoes

• 1 kg of potatoes
• 20 cl of milk, or vegetable milk
• 50 g butter or margarine
• Salt
• Nutmeg

For the plant-based hachi

• 2 blocks of tofu (400 g), chopped
• 250 g mushrooms, chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
• 3 sprigs of rosemary
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 30 ml of soy sauce

Preparation

For the mashed potatoes

Peel your potatoes, then roughly chop them into pieces. Cook them in a pot of boiling salted water for about 30 minutes. Cooking times vary depending on the size of your potatoes.

To check if your potatoes are cooked, poke them with the tip of a knife. If the knife does not go in, the potatoes are not yet cooked. If the knife goes in easily without too much resistance, your potatoes are ready!

Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Add the milk and butter and mash the potatoes with a potato masher or grinder. Mix the mashed potatoes well and season with salt and nutmeg.

For the plant-based hachi

In a pan, brown the onions and carrots with a drizzle of olive oil. Then add the tofu, mushrooms, thyme and rosemary. Mix well and fry for 5 minutes.

Then add the smoked paprika. Finally, remove the thyme and rosemary and pour in the soy sauce.

Finally, butter an ovenproof pan. Place the vegetable chop and pack it well. Cover with mashed potatoes and spread them evenly over the dish. Finish with grated cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 °C. Serve warm with a green salad.

Pictures

Find the steps of the recipe in pictures!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I substitute some of the ingredients ?

As with every blog post, here are some tips for substituting ingredients in this recipe:

• Tofu: You can replace tofu with vegetable meat. In this case, reduce the amount of soy sauce because the vegetable meat is usually already salty. You can also replace the tofu with the equivalent amount of mushrooms and an extra carrot.
• Mushrooms: You can remove the mushrooms and add more tofu. However, mushrooms bring a juicier side to the plant-based hachi.
• Smoked Paprika: You can substitute smoked paprika with regular paprika powder. However, the smoky notes bring a good taste to the vegetable hash!
• Mashed potatoes: You can replace the mashed potatoes with cooked pasta to vary this recipe a bit!

How long does this Vegetarian Hachi Parmentier last?

This Hachi Parmentier can be kept for three to four days in the refrigerator.

Can I prepare this Hachi Parmentier in advance?

Yes, that’s even the great advantage of this dish! You can either prepare it in advance and bake it just before serving. In this case, add the grated cheese just before placing the dish in the oven.

Can I freeze this Hachi Parmentier?

Yes, Hachi Parmentier freezes very well! It will keep for three months in the freezer.

Can I make a Vegan Hachi Parmentier?

Yes, the recipe is completely vegan if you replace the milk by vegetable milk and the butter by margarine.