If you’re a potato lover, you may not like to hear your favorite dish was not popular in Europe for a very long time – and in some cases, like in France for example, its cultivation was even forbidden.

Indeed, while in America potatoes were already a popular dish, and it was brought to Europe by the Spaniards, they were only eaten in Spain and Ireland during the 17th and 18th centuries.

However, someone made the French realize that the potato was not only a tasty ingredient, but it could also be used as a substitute for wheat. And this, he tried to achieve by inventing a variety of potato-based recipes that were intended to captivate the palates of the nobility of the time.

That man was Antoine-Augustin Parmentier and many of his recipes are still used today since they highlight the taste of the potato.

One of those recipes is Gratin Parmentier, or simply put, meatballs with potatoes and bechamel sauce. The ingredients that we need to make this recipe are easy to find and we usually have them on hand. Unlike the name suggests, you don’t have to be an expert or a master chef to prepare this dish.

So, let’s get started!

Ingredients you will need:

• 3 potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft
• 1 white onion
• 1 package ground beef
• 1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped
• a pinch of paprika
• 1 large bag of shredded mozzarella
• salt
• pepper

For the bechamel:

• 5 tablespoons of butter
• 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 4 cups of milk
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

Step-by-step:

1. Prepare the bechamel sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add in the flour and whisk well until smooth. Keep cooking the mixture for about seven minutes or until it turns light golden.
2. While your mixture is cooking, bring the milk to a simmer in a separate saucepan. When your first mixture is ready, pour in the milk, little by little, whisking non-stop until smooth. Once the milk is incorporated, cook for another 10 minutes stirring constantly. Season with salt and nutmeg and set aside.

3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a big bowl, add your ground beef, parsley, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper and mix well until all the ingredients are fully incorporated in the meat.

4. Slice the boiled potatoes and arrange them nicely at the bottom of a pie dish. Make sure you arrange one layer at the bottom and another one around the sides.

5. Take ice-cream scoop-sized portions of the meat mixture and make meatballs. Place them on top of the potato layer.

6. Once you’re done with that, place the remaining potato slices vertically forming “walls” among your meatballs.

7. Pour the sauce on top of each meatball and finish with the mozzarella.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

Once your dish is ready, you can let it sit for a couple of minutes so it’s easier to serve.

How easy was that? We’re already hungry and probably making some Gratin Parmentier for dinner tonight! How about you?

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Source: Love Cooking Daily, Facebook, Wikipedia