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Hash browns or home fries? I love both, but I confess a definite partiality for hash browns, which I define as grated potatoes formed into cakes and fried. (Home fries, on the other hand, are diced potatoes.) Either preparation can include onion, and home fries often include peppers. But the hash brown is the simpler of the two, the pure essence of potato. There’s something about the contrast between the two crispy outer surfaces and the soft, luscious interior that makes hash browns unique.
Hash browns and veggie sausage.
I used to consider hash browns at home a time-consuming and difficult task. I might manage to produce a crispy golden crust, but the inside would still be raw. The secret turned out to be the microwave oven. Now I make them when I’m having a fried egg or sausage anyway, and I have an extra five minutes to grate two potatoes.
Hash Browns for Two
- Grate two medium potatoes, skin and all. You can toss them in cold water to keep them from oxidizing, but I usually don’t bother.
- Drain (if using water). Whether you used water or not, gather those tatties in your hands and squeeze them as hard as you can to get all the moisture out. Pat dry. Put in a bowl and mix in some olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Microwave for two minutes or until you scent the inimitable, unmistakable aroma of the potatoes cooking. They will stick together a bit when they are ready. Heat the pan with some olive oil.
- Dump into the hot frying pan and flatten with the spatula until they are a half-inch thick. Fry (4-5 minutes) until the bottom is golden brown, then flip and cook some more.
The intermediate step: microwave them.
These are a LOT less fatty than restaurant hash browns, and they don’t have the dextrose and chemicals found in the frozen variety.
Linnet Moss 
I’ll have to try this. Last week I made turnip hashbrowns for the first time. They were delicious!
Turnip hashbrowns! That sounds intriguing.
And tasty!
Yum! What I see in your picture reminds me of a typical German potato dish called “Kartoffelpuffer” (potato patties). They consist of grated potatoes, too, but you add egg and flower to the potatoes and onion. But I must try your version, too, although I have no microwave oven…
Oh, and BTW, my vegetarian experiment continues, and at this point, I have realised, I am almost vegan save for eggs and butter in pastry. (Don’t tell anyone in the RArmy – highly controversial ;-)) I do not miss meat at all, and I have noticed that I am losing weight without much effort. (And that is pretty unheard of for me.) If anyone had told me, I would enjoy giving up meat, I would’ve done it earlier… You are one of the three people I credit with my no-meat-success.
Hey, I saw this! ( only kidding – food choices are your choices)
Lol! My cover is blown. I am baking a tray of ANZAC cookies, including butter, right now, making up for my vegan-affinity 😉
I keep out of eating habits discussions because at this stage of life, I have the worst eating habits imaginable. LOL, I get most of my calories from Linett’s blog.
That’s the best way of enjoying tasty food – without calories 🙂 And it’s wise to keep out of food discussions -they seem to be as personal as politics…
I don’t know. My mother told me if you eat standing up over the sink, in the dark, there are no calories.
I have tried that, but it wasn’t in the dark–maybe that’s the secret 🙂
This is a safe space for food discussion 🙂 Except when it comes to jello salads. I have to draw the line somewhere.
LOL. I hope it’s not junk food!
Veganism seems to be the hot thing right now, but I say hooray for us vegetarians 🙂
I know – personally, I think it is a bit of a fad. In my case, the veganism thing is a by-product of going vegetarian while having stopped consuming dairy products.
Well done you 🙂 i sometimes envy the lucky people who can change their diet and loose weight. Unless i suddenly develop a diary allergy i’m never giving up milk, yogurt, cheese, just not going to happen 🙂
Well, changing the diet comes easy to people like me who have not got any gourmet sensitivities. I’ll eat the same things for 4 weeks in a row and not mind…
I do eat the same things since i don’t have the time to cook more than 2x a week 🙂 the only thing i have left is cutting all sugar = that is not touching any dessert ever, since it is the only way i eat any to begin with and since that is not part of my daily routine it would be a real sacrifice for life and not make me happy and cutting any carbs, which are already limited by design – the reason why i can’t and won’t cut diary is because natural yogurt is my breakfast, the alternative would be carb of some form or other and that is worse.I can’t use soy milk in tea, yuk, sorry :-). I almost never use butter and i’ve been controlling cheese gradually. I literally don’t feel guilty about anything that i eat because there is nothing in it to feel guilty about or breaking any healthy rules, no snacking daily other than fruit in the afternoon, no sugary drinks, no crisps or anything like that, raw nuts only in breakfast, etc. I’d like to give up meat if i could for ethical reasons but i’m still debating with myself because of implications in my diet/cost, switching to fish the times i eat chicken/pork for example comes at a significant cost and unlike the meats much harder to cook for several days and take with me to work.
I’m just hoping the cold with let up and i don’t have to switch offices every day so i don’t have to carry the 7-8kg+ backpack on my back and can walk to and from work again. And that i’ll somehow manage to find the money and the time to get on some Pilates classes or something… which is a way more uphill battle than anything food related since it is as far as it gets from my life routine and schedule… theater/opera/ballet vs Pilates… painful.
Yogurt for breakfast is very good! I never skip breakfast, though I have taken to skipping lunch or only eating some fruit and a cube of cheese.
You avoid crisps? That takes great willpower. I usually fall prey to them.
Not I 😊I’m lucky in a way that where I grew up there were no crisps or chocolate bars or any kind of snacks other than the cooked variety 😊so I crave things like puff pastry parcels with cheese or things called a langos or home made doughnuts but since this stuff is not available here I’m saved until I muster up time and energy to make them myself 😊
Oh my! Puff pastries with cheese and homemade doughnuts! Crisps do seem like a poor second to such treats 🙂 You are making me hungry…
My strategy is to experiment with vegan substitutes while not giving up my favorite dairy items. I have switched away from dairy milk entirely, and don’t miss it!
Wow, that is wonderful news 🙂 Yes, I have made the potato patties too. I would call that a potato pancake–yum.
If you’re not able to microwave, I wonder if steaming them for a few minutes would do the trick? But they shouldn’t absorb moisture. The traditional way is just to fry them longer at a lower temp, to make sure the inside is cooked.
I’ll try the steaming. Good idea!
Looks good 🙂 if i ever decided to buy a microwave – which i probably won’t, keeps me well away from any fast cooking or shortcuts that can be microwaved 😉 And i don’t fry potatoes so i don’ eat them too often (i usually avoid buying them altogether), this way they are restricted to the few times i decide to have them when eating out or in the odd hotel breakfast when i do enjoy them:-) I must give those sausages a try one of these days.
Yes, I have cut way back on potatoes and carbs like pasta and bread. That’s why it is such a pleasure when I do indulge in them!
I highly recommend veggie sausages–some are better than others, but once you find a brand you like, they’re great! Sadly, veggie bacon is a different matter.
Well if I take to the sausages that would be great progress as sadly it is something I quite like to eat now and again Any good brands? 😊
My favorite is the Boca brand–don’t know if they have that in the UK. They make various “burgers” too.
I vote with you, Linnet – hash browns over home fries ( I like both, but . . .) They look delicious.
I like home fries with peppers and onion, topped with salsa, cheddar and sour cream!
It looks very good for a treat once in a while 🙂
Yes, that’s how I have them, as an occasional treat.
So that’s the trick! I have tried them at home a couple of times and they never turn out well. I will have to try this!
Do, and let me know if it works!
Potatoes, potatoes, love em anyway which way. But hashed is darned good, have never tried microwaving them first. Will have to give it a whirl.
Let me know how it works if you do!