Rex Roof

Stuffed Hashbrowns

For some reason I got it into my head that I wanted to make hand-held hippie hash. (or is it hippy hash?) Apparently, hippie hash is an invention of the fleetwood diner here in ann arbor. It is hash browns fried with tomatoes, broccoli, mushroom and onions, and topped with feta cheese. I didn’t actually realize it was a home-spun creation until a google search for it, 5 minutes ago.

One of the things that inspired me were these hash browns from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home. They looked so delightfully crispy and definitely something that could be hand-held. Also, reading the instructions, I could definitely see how I could adapt them to include hippy hash.

Here is what I did, to much success:

First, prepare the filling. One whole tomato, cut into a small dice. Lightly salt the tomato and set aside. A handful of trimmed broccoli, boiled for 2 minutes in salty water, remove from water and let cool. Take a handful of mushrooms and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. Put 1/3 cup of small onion dice in a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a small skillet. Cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Toss and let cook until mushrooms are soft and remove from heat. At this point I also added some minced pea shoot microgreens, I had them on hand, and the extra heat in the pan softened them up. Strain the tomatoes and cut the broccoli into the smallest florets. Mix the tomatoes and the broccoli in with the onions and mushrooms and remove the pan from the heat. Crumble some feta cheese into small crumbles that is about 1/3 of a cup.

For the potatoes: Peel three medium russet potatoes and grate them into a bowl of cold water using the medium coarse side of your box grater. I used a mesh strainer to strain the potatoes out of the water and rinse them slightly in cold water. I then pressed as much water as I could out of them. This could also be done with a salad spinner, or by laying them out on towels (paper or kitchen) and pressing the water out. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and spoon a few good spoonfuls of cornstarch around the edges of the bowl. For three potatoes you might need as much as 6 tablespoons of cornstarch. Toss this with a spoon or your hands to get the potatoes well coated.

Heat a 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is shimmering, lower the heat and start assembling. Use your fingers to place bits of potato in the pan in a thin round layer. You only want about 1/4 inch of potatoes in the pan. On top of this put a single dense layer of the filling mixture. Then top with another layer of potatoes. Try not to press this together too much, Thomas Keller warns about pressing too hard because you want the potatoes to remain light. Turn the heat up a little and let this cook. If you notice the oil in the pan drying up, add more. It is essential that the potatoes fry and get brown and crispy. Don’t be afraid of letting these cook almost 10 minutes. Every time I’ve gotten impatient and flipped the potatoes early they are tan and pale, not golden brown and delicious. Even when you see brown bits of potato on the edges, wait another couple minutes. Carefully flip this potato cake over and cook another 7-8 minutes. Remove from the pan to a paper towel lined plate, or to a cooling rack. Let cool a few minutes before eating. Repeat with remaining potatoes and filling.