Vive le Pomme de Terre (et le Fromage)!

We just recently returned from a few days in the Haute-Savoie, near France's borders with Switzerland and Italy.  The red spot below:

We stayed in Talloires, a perfect little town nestled in the Alps, on Lake Annecy.  We hiked up into the hills; visited tiny churches, grottos, and waterfalls; gazed up into the sky at multitudes of paragliders; took ferry rides around the lake; sat on our balcony overlooking the mountains and the water; and ate enormous quantities of cheese--washing it down with the white and rose wines of the region to help prevent the cheese from forming into a hard-to-digest rock in your stomach (at least that's what we were told by the locals). 

Last time, I was obsessed with the Tartiflette--layers of potatoes, sauce, cheese and lardons, baked until crisp on top and deliciously gooey in the middle.  This year, I discovered a new friend and somewhat obscure historical figure.  His name was Antoine-Augustin Parmentier and he, too, was a fan of the potato.  While I'm sure he loved a good tartiflette, another dish bears his name. 

I discovered the "parmentier" at a restaurant in Annecy.  I tried to order the menu du jour--a complete mystery due to my limited French restaurant vocabulary--but, apparently they had run out of whatever it was.  So, I ordered a parmentier from a list of several--each containing words I knew:  pommes de terre, reblochon, canard, lardon, champignon, etc.  A parmentier is similar to a tartiflette--in both raw ingredients and cooking methods.  It is made with potatoes and the ubiquitous cheese of the region: reblochon.  Parmentier consists of mashed potatoes, topped with a layer of something (shredded duck, minced pork, or other things I didn't understand), smothered in thick slices of cheese, then baked like a tartiflette.

Mine had minced mushrooms and shredded, smokey pork inside...I think.  It was delicious.  It goes on my short (but growing) list of French comfort food obsessions:  cassoulet, tartiflette, and, now, parmentier. 

Merci, Monsieur Parmentier.  Merci.