I've been immersing myself lately in handmade hash browns. The obsession is real: I even fantasize about them in the waning hours of the afternoon at work and rush home to prepare them for supper.
They meet all of my favorite criteria for food: Cheap, nutritious, delicious, and easy to make (I'm not overcooking anything and only using olive oil, so yes, I can claim "nutritious" on this one!)
I take a normal vegetable/cheese grater like the one in the link. Erin has a nice hand-held one that's great, too. I shred a couple of washed potatoes with the skins on. I like the shoestring consistency and avoid making mush. I then shred the better part of an onion and mix them together.
There is something glorious about the combined smell of the onion and potatoes. Very earthy.
The next step is essential: Wring it out! You'll be sitting at the stove for an hour waiting for your meal to cook down if you don't. I like to squeeze the mixture in my hands. VeganYumYum suggests you wring it out with paper towels, but I don't like paper towel bits in my browns (the link also explores cheese as a topping).
Salt, pepper and a coating of paprika follow. [Paprika is a wonderful spice that should be generously applied to everything. Besides adding atmosphere to your food, it can also assist you in cooking--you can tell whether you have completely flipped over something in the pan or not.]
All that's left is to throw the mixture in a heated pan with olive oil. I cook it slowly for about 10-20 minutes, turning over as necessary. The trick for me is to find that level where its not too burnt but not too raw. Just right, as baby bear says.
Another 75 cent supper.
These sound good....except I might add rosemary instead of paprika (though I love paprika, rosemary adds a unique flavor that I've recently become obsessed with due to a pub in Kent that puts rosemary on their fries... yum!!!).
ReplyDeleteMove over Waffle House. These do sound really good.
ReplyDeleteDid you know you are supposed to refrigerate your paprika and other red spices?
Well, I apparently do everything wrong with spices... storing directly above the stove (without even shutting the cabinet door), sprinkling over a steaming pan, and heck, not too far from an open fridge, either.
ReplyDeleteI'm very unfamiliar with rosemary, but heard its good on pork. I tried to grow some from seed this year, but was robustly unsuccessful. A tiny shoot came up, but quickly died... reminded me of the mice in Hitchhiker's Guide... just toying with me. Sounds like more experimentation with rosemary is in order...
ReplyDeleteIn related spice news, Erin turned me on to fresh basil. It’s not wholly accurate to say that the dried flakes do not do it justice--they don't even resemble the fresh stuff at all. I keep a few basil plants and tear off some leaves from time to time. Great in an omelet or on toasted french bread (with garlic and olive oil, too).
Hmmmm.... fresh basil... *mouth watering* All I've got is the flake kind right now... :(
ReplyDelete