It's Hash Time Again

I enjoy being creative it the kitchen. That also includes finding interesting ways to combine leftovers into a meal. Sometimes I have to augment what I have with some grocery items, but mostly I just make do with what's around.

Today was the latter. I've posted before about using leftover french fries to create a breakfast hash, and that's what happened again today. I took my mood and inspiration to the refrigerator, and after tossing a few well-aged items in the trash, chose yellow and red onion, pastrami, and red bell pepper for my creation.

I prefer dicing the ingredients to roughly the size of the potato cubes. That way it all blends together nicely. If I'm using shredded meat though, I tend to leave it larger that the other items so that the meat taste is dominant when it hits my tongue. Here, the pastrami was already sliced thin, so there was no value in highlighting it.

I started with a hot stainless steel pan. Heating it ahead of time will minimize the chance of food sticking, a nice trick. In went some butter, which I allowed to brown before adding a dab of avocado oil. Using either or both is driven by how they will add or detract from the cooked ingredients. In hindsight, I would have gone with more oil than butter for this.

After reducing the temperature to medium, I slid in all of the chopped ingredients at once. Their cooking and browning times were so similar that there was no need to stagger them, so long as I stirred often. If the meat pieces were larger, I would have started the rest first, then added the meat. If garlic was going it, I would add it late, as it burns so quickly.

Potatoes absorb salt, so I add more than normal, along with some fine ground black pepper. Herbs were left out this time, because I just couldn't decide what I wanted.

Once nicely browned, I distributed a beaten egg and reduced the heat to low. Eggs are a delicate food, and I for one really dislike it when their overcooked so badly that they would bounce off the floor if dropped.

My preference is pouring in the well-beaten egg around the perimeter and in the middle, then swirling it so that everything is well blended. As the egg cooks, I slide my spatula under and edge and tilt the pan, letting uncooked egg flow underneath to create fluffy layers of goodness. When mostly cooked, I'll work some holes in for the rest to drain through, or just flip it over to finish. All that matters is that the egg is treated gently, and that if doesn't brown.

My mood wanted a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese to compliment the pastrami and onions. All that was left now was to find a sunny spot to nestle with brekkie and a cuppa.

#creativecooking
#CWH
#homechef