Recipe Flash: Hash Browns

Hash Browns are one of those total wildcards of restaurant dining. When they arrive with eggs at a coffee shop—and I’ve been known to order them even independent of eggs as, say, a side to caramel buns when I was in the Midwest and trying to fit in—they might resemble a big soggy mess or they might be transcendent, crispy, and ready to be drenched in ketchup.

If you’re willing to abscond from this game of chance and guarantee yourself good hash browns every time, then here’s how to make them at home. Eat with eggs or alone, and at whatever meal.

From my kitchen, albeit small, to yours,

Cara, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOK

Spinach Hash Browns
Serves 4

Ingredients
6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced; or about 4 cups of any kind of potatoes cut into a 1/2 inch dich
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 scant teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups packed fresh spinach

In a large pot, bring about 6 cups of water to the boil. Add a large pinch of salt and the potatoes, and cook until just cooked, about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes well.

In a medium cast-iron pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano, and cook over low heat, while stirring, until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook over medium heat until crispy, 10-15 minutes, letting the mixture sit for minutes at a time so that it becomes crispy. Add the spinach just before serving, and toss it around in the potatoes, letting it wilt.