The influence of French cuisine on modern American cooking is immense.
Many of us associate the iconic chef and television personality Julia Child with quintessential American cooking.
However, her culinary inspiration was deeply rooted in French cuisine, which she masterfully adapted for the American kitchen.
Some may perceive French cooking as an art meant only for the most sophisticated chefs, or as a culinary style too complex for everyday cooking.
Today, we’re here to debunk these misconceptions with a simple yet delightful recipe.
You might not be familiar with the name, but Gratin Parmentier has taken the internet by storm.
This recipe, brimming with everyday ingredients assembled in an innovative manner, is sure to become a regular feature in your kitchen once you give it a try.
Here’s what you’ll need for the dish: three peeled and boiled potatoes, one white onion, a package of ground beef, a teaspoon of chopped parsley, a pinch of paprika, a large bag of shredded mozzarella, béchamel sauce, and some salt and pepper.
For the béchamel sauce, you’ll need five tablespoons of butter, four tablespoons of all-purpose flour, four cups of milk, two teaspoons of salt, and half a teaspoon of nutmeg.
Let’s start with the béchamel sauce.
Grab a medium saucepan and melt your butter over medium-low heat.
Add in the flour and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Continue cooking until it turns a light golden color, which should take about six or seven minutes.
While your butter and flour mixture is cooking, heat your milk in a separate pan until it’s just shy of boiling.
Gradually add the hot milk to the butter and flour mixture, one cup at a time, whisking continuously until it’s smooth.
Once all the milk is incorporated, bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Season with salt and nutmeg, and voila, your béchamel sauce is ready.
With your sauce prepared, it’s time to preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine your package of beef, chopped parsley, and paprika.
Add a touch of salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients until they’re evenly combined.
Next, peel three potatoes and boil them until they’re semi-soft, which should take around seven minutes.
Once they’re ready, slice them and arrange the slices at the bottom of a round glass baking dish.
Lay one layer flat on the bottom and arrange another layer around the sides.
Now, shape your meat mixture into ice cream scoop-sized meatballs—you should end up with about 15 meatballs.
Arrange these meatballs on your potato slices.
Use your remaining potato slices to create walls between the meatballs, forming individual compartments.
Pour your béchamel sauce into each compartment until it’s relatively full, and top everything off with a thin layer of shredded mozzarella.
Finally, bake the entire dish in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
When it’s done, you’ll have a cheesy, and creamy French casserole-style dish that’s sure to be a hit with the whole family.
This recipe is straightforward and utterly irresistible.
Learn step-by-step how to make this delicious recipe in the video below!
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