Hash browns with eggs

 

As a kid, I didn’t really understand what was it about fries and eggs that my father loved so much. I may have been as round as a balloon back then, but I have to say I actually fancied the “healthier” breakfast alternatives. Oatmeal, boiled eggs, maybe cereal and milk. Nothing fried. I mean, I would eat the fries, and the fried eggs, but they weren’t particularly enticing to me. Not to mention, that having potatoes for breakfast rarely crossed my mind.

As a teenager, I went on a high school field trip, a good 2 hours away from us. We stopped at a Burger King for breakfast where I ordered scramble eggs, pancakes, and hash browns. I took my food to their patio, but I had to go back in for some ketchup and other condiments. When I returned, I was utterly surprised to see a Goddamn bird sitting on my hash browns while eating my pancakes! What the hell! I started cursing, yelling, and throwing ketchup, salt, and pepper packs to the birds, who’d flown way beyond my reach by then. In the meanwhile, the rest of the people were looking at me from the inside of the restaurant, filled with confusion as they tried to understand the strange ritual that balloon-kid was performing behind the glass wall. Stupid birds.

My little incident didn’t bring me any closer to eating and fancying hash browns. I did, however, start making them often (in the last few years) as a quick side dish for dinner. They require minimal prep work and are done fairly quickly; more importantly, they are delicious, and low in calories, so making them is a no brainer.

For the recipe I’m sharing today, I went easy and simple; it’s my peace offering after all the overeating I’ve done this holiday season. I sautéed the hash browns with a few cloves of garlic to infuse them with that beautiful garlic flavor; I kept and ate the garlic at the end because I love to do so. I served my hash with sunny side eggs, no ketchup. I learned the lessons those birds thought me years ago. 

On the road shortcut

Makes 2 servings

484 calories, 40 g carbs, 27 g fat, 21 g protein

2 tablespoon corn oil (divided in half)

5 cloves garlic, peeled

2 medium baking potatoes (sliced in ¼ inch sticks)

4 jumbo eggs

Optional: dill to garnish

On a nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of corn oil over medium-high heat.

Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste (I used about a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper). When the oil is hot, add the potatoes and the garlic. Cover and cook until a fork easily goes through the potatoes (about 15-20 minutes), sautéing every 3-4 minutes to prevent the potatoes from burning. Remove the potatoes from the pan and save until you are ready to serve.  (Note: I keep the potatoes in the oven - warming cycle at 170F, but a pre-warmed plate should do. If you don’t mind your hash browns cooling down, just set them aside on a dish.) Add more salt and/or pepper if necessary.

Return the frying pan to medium high heat, and add the other tablespoon of oil. After a minute, add the eggs. Fry them to your liking (I did sunny side up). Top the hash browns with the fried eggs.

Optional: Garnish with dill.