Hash Browns

The hubby and I do love something special on the weekends for breakfast with his preference being waffles, and mine pancakes.  But one thing we do agree on is nothing can beat homemade hash browns.  This wasn’t the first time we have had a go at hash browns ourselves, with our first incarnation being good, but not quite good enough.

Early last year a video popped up in my YouTube subscription from the wonderful Laura Vitale, who you may remember is the source of the soft pretzel recipe, for her homemade hash browns.  We finally got around to making these during my epic weekend of baking apple cake, macarons and cupcakes and needless to say we were not disappointed!

Laura uses a russet potato in her recipe, but as there were none of those available in my neck of the woods I used a couple of golden delights and they worked just as well.  For two people, one large spud is more than enough but we were cooking up a storm hence we had a few more.  You will also need an egg white, plain flour, salt and pepper and if you want a little bit of extra flavour, a small onion or shallot.

Fill a large bowl with water and set aside then peel, wash and grate the potatoes.  Because I love my food processor, I set up the 4mm grater and ran the potatoes through it which made things quick and easy.  Once you have finished grating the potato put it in the bowl of water and let them sit for five to ten minutes.

If you happen to have one, a potato ricer works best for the next step otherwise you can use cheesecloth or a sieve to strain the potatoes through.

Squeeze all of the water out of the grated potato, using your method of choice, in small batches at a time, and place the dried potato into another large bowl.

Add the flour, egg white, onion (if using), salt and pepper to the potato and stir through until thoroughly combined.  Sometimes it can be a bit difficult making sure it is evenly distributed so do your best.

Add enough oil to your fry pan to cover the bottom and heat it up as you want it nice and hot when cooking the hash browns.  Test the temperature of the oil by dropping one of the pieces of grated potato into it and if it sizzles, you are ready to rock.  Scoop ¹⁄₃ to ¹⁄₂ cup of the mixture into the pan and flatten it slightly.  If you are like me, you do not want to flatten it too much so the hash browns are soft on the inside, and nice and crunchy on the outside.  But if you prefer them super crunchy flatten them as much as you can.

Cook the hash browns for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown.

When cooked, transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain off any excess oil.

If you can’t wait you can certainly serve these bad boys by themselves…

… or enjoy with sides of your choice.

Print Recipe

Hash Browns

Adapted from Laura Vitale

Course

Breakfast

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 1 large russet or golden delight potato peeled
• 1 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp grated onion or 1 shallot (optional)
• 1 egg white(s)
• salt and pepper
• vegetable oil as required

Course Breakfast Servings people Ingredients 1 large russet or golden delight potato peeled 1 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour 2 tbsp grated onion or 1 shallot (optional) 1 egg white(s) salt and pepper vegetable oil as required

Instructions

1. Fill a medium size bowl with water and set aside.
2. Grate the potato on the large side of your box grater, or using a food processor (4mm plate works best) and put into the bowl of water. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Using a potato ricer, cheesecloth or sieve, remove the potatoes from the water, small batches at a time, and squeeze out the excess water. Place the dried potatoes into a clean bowl.
4. Add the flour, onion, egg white and salt and pepper to taste then mix thoroughly to combine.
5. Pour a few tablespoons of oil into your fry pan, enough to cover the bottom, and place on a medium-high heat. Test the temperature is correct by dropping a piece of potato in, when it sizzles you are ready to cook.
6. Scoop 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the mixture into the fry pan and flatten with a spatula to your desired thickness.
7. Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy.
8. Remove from the pan onto a plate lined with paper towel to drain any excess oil.
9. Serve immediately.