Hash Browns Have Never Been Easier, Healthier and Tastier: Katherine’s Easy & Simple Recipe
For breakfast, lunch or dinner, and with any accompaniment your heart desires, these hash browns are versatile, nutritious, and to die for. I love potatoes. Just about everyone loves them too. But the internet and low carb followers have, inaccurately, described potatoes as non nutritious and high calorie. At 160 calories for six ounces, I dispute that claim. These are unfounded rumors preventing you from eating one of the most delicious and nutritious foods on the planet.
In fact, potatoes are so filled with essential nutrients, they’ve kept countless cultures alive and healthy for thousands of years. Think of countries with colder climates like Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, Ireland, that couldn’t grow citrus or many other fruits and vegetables. Potatoes were virtually their only source of Vitamin C and potassium. An infamous example of how critical the potato has been in the past, is how the devastating loss of them caused The Great Irish Famine in mid-1800s-Ireland. At the time, one third of the Irish people subsisted on potatoes. The loss of the potato crop left around 1 million people dead from starvation or disease, with another million fleeing the country.
Today, potatoes are recognized as a subsistence crop for developing countries with high levels of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Because they’re inexpensive and easy to grow, readily available, accessible, high quality, nutritious, and stable, potatoes are the perfect food to feed the world’s 822 million undernourished people.
The bottom line: It’s a mistake to underestimate potatoes.
Katherine’s Hash Browns
I developed this recipe because I love crispy potatoes, but I don’t want the excess calories of frying them in a lot of oil, or without sacrificing their flavor and texture. It’s an easy recipe, and clean-up’s a breeze.
Serves 4 as a Side Dish
Ingredients:
2 or more large Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes – enough to cover your pan with 1/3″ thickness when laid out on the size-of-your-choice non-stick frying pan
2 Tbsp Canola or Peanut Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Herb of Your Choice, ie, Rosemary
A Dollop of Nonfat, Plain (Fage) Greek Yogurt sprinkled with Kosher Salt and Pepper, on the side
Scrub the potatoes clean, then grate the potatoes using the largest holes on a large box grater. I don’t peel them, but that’s your option. Once they’re grated, to remove excess starch, put the grated potatoes in a bowl with cold water to soak them, then place them in a large colander, pouring cold water over them, until the water is clear. Squeeze as much water out of them as possible, using a cotton towel or cheese cloth.
Once the potatoes are relatively dry, add the oil to the frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, swirl it around the pan, and add the potatoes. When they are laid out across the pan, they should be about 1/3″ thick.
Add salt and pepper and any herb of your choice.
Don’t stir the potatoes. Flip them when they are golden brown. Continue to cook them until they are golden brown on both sides.
Serve them on four plates with scrambled or fried eggs. Add a bit of smoked or grilled salmon, chicken sausage of your choice. Any veggie would be delicious along side them. Fresh tomatoes, sautéd mushrooms, onions, sweet orange or red peppers. Have them alongside your “Original Boca Burger” and whole wheat bun. With ketchup? To each his own!
I always have potatoes with a dollop of nonfat, plain Greek yogurt. I prefer Fage. I sprinkle salt and pepper on the yogurt, and use the yogurt the way you might use sour cream. You won’t know the difference, I promise
And more…