Charly's Comfort Food

On Friday night, I went out with some friends and we ended up partying way too late and drinking a tiny bit too much. It was totally worth it (until I woke up the next morning...) I had great plans for my saturday, but I decided that these plans were way too ambitious for my state, so I ended up putting my sweat pants on and my BFF and I watched some very intellectual shows (Gossip Girls, Nikita, Grey's Anatomy, Vampire Diaries,...) Then we both realized that we wanted to eat something that was going to make us feel good for dinner. There is obviously nothing better than a homey meal, so we decided to make an "Hachis Parmentier" or how we call it in my neck of the woods a "philosopher".

1. Go to the closest supermarket and buy:

-some butter

-some milk

-some shredded parmesan

-2 pounds of ground meat. For the meat you have several options (today I took 1 pound of ground beef & 1 pound of ground pork) but it is even better if you mix some meat from your leftovers. 

-15 mini tomatoes

-8 potatoes

-1 red onion

-some nutmeg (almost nothing, just a pinch)

2. Let's get started

Peel and quarter the potatoes. Put them into a large pan that you fill with cold water. Add 1tsp of salt, cover the pan and bring to a broil. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down and simmer the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes. The potatoes should be tender to the point that a knife should slice easily through their flesh. Preheat the oven at 450degrees. 

3. Chop the onions. Cut the mini tomatoes in half. Then, put 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan and then throw the pieces of the onion in (don't put the heat on too high). When the onions have softened, add the meat. You can season the meat with some herbs or spices. When the meat is almost ready add the mini tomatoes and let the whole thing cook for 2 minutes then turn the heat off. 

4. Drain the potatoes, then add 1/2 of a cup of milk. Add a tiny tiny bit of nutmeg (just a pinch), and a little bit of pepper. Crush the potatoes and then use your blender to make it smoother. 

5. In a roasting pan add the meat at the bottom, then add the mashed potatoes. (what you can also do is add a layer of creamed spinach in between). On top of the mashed potatoes, spread some shredded parmesan. Put the pan in the oven for 20' or until the top looks golden.

Enjoy! (and let me know if you liked this dish)