Hash browns are a potato breakfast dish commonly prepared in the US and UK. They make a great Sunday morning brunch meal and are quicker to make than pancakes. They also leave half the mess that pancakes do which make hash browns a preferred choice for many.
Though it’s a quick and easy recipe, maximum precision is required when preparing the dish. Each step is crucial in ensuring a perfectly cooked hash brown. The result resembles a crunchy potato pancake that leaves you with a watery mouth.
Ingredients (2 servings)
- Cooking oil/butter
- 2 large potatoes, peeled
- Salt
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 avocado
Preparation
Shred the peeled potatoes using the largest holes on a grater. Rinse the shredded potatoes to get rid of the starch (potato juice) and dry them with a paper towel or cloth. Ensure that the shredded potatoes are as dry as possible. This helps to make them crunchy.
Coat a large non-stick pan with cooking oil or butter and heat over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook them for about 3-5 minutes until they’ve formed a golden crust at the bottom. Break them into 4 sections, flatten them to a slightly thick patty and turn them around.
Continue to cook them for another 2-3 minutes without disturbing them too much so as to not break the patties. Once your hash browns are golden and crunchy, transfer them to a paper towel to drain any excess oil and season with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
Your pan should be nice and clean if everything went well. On the same pan, crack two eggs and cook them over low heat without breaking the yolk. Once the eggs are solid, flip them over and cook for 10 seconds to make the yolk less runny. Remove the eggs and put them on a plate. Season with salt and black pepper.
Slice a well-ripe avocado using just the tip of the knife. Scoop out the avocado gently using a spoon to remove the slices and place them on the plate.
Garnish with a little black pepper and serve while hot.
Note that your patties don’t have to be perfectly shaped. additionally, seasoning is the key to this recipe so be generous with the salt and pepper.
