Farmers’ Market Hash

Sometimes I just want to retreat to a vegetable paradise. Where I can, you know, peel potatoes in a grass skirt and roll around in fields of cornsilk to the tunes of Cat Stevens. I get this feeling especially after visiting a midsummer farmers’ market, soaking in the blissful variety and radiance of all the produce. It’s not so much a sensation of hunger that I get as it is of admiration and awe, similar to visiting a museum. That Mother Nature, I say to myself, has truly has outdone herself with this exquisitely striped squash. Those heirloom tomatoes doubtless fall into the school of the grotesque-beautiful. Those peaches are a sign of the artist’s age of maturity, a return to simplicity in form with a focus on texture.

A true hash, by definition, could include meats and anything that your heart desires in it, scrappled into one pan. I encourage you to use your own judgement and pick out whatever you like in yours. I just have one technique, really, to share, which hinges on the fact that potatoes must be cooked longer than anything else that would likely populate your vegetable scrapple — peppers, onions, zucchini, especially garlic, and whathaveyou. Therefore, I treat them with a process that is somewhere in between blanching them and boiling them first. Bloiling? Whatever you call it, it turns out perfect results each time, and makes cooking this breakfast hash much faster. Which is good, because I’m always really hungry in the morning. Always.

Farmers’ Market Hash
(makes 2-3 servings)

3-4 medium-sized potatoes (red, Yukon gold, and fingerling varieties preferred)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 milder, sweeter pepper, like the cubanelle (or a semi-hot squiggly-shaped chile pictured above which I have no idea what its name is), chopped
1 zucchini or summer squash, sliced (optional)
2 Tb butter
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
sprinkle of fresh chives or fresh onion stems (as in the bunch pictured above), chopped

Cut potatoes in half. Place into a pot and fill with water until covered. Cover, and bring to a boil. Let boil for about 8 minutes; drain, and let cool. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them evenly. In a large nonstick frying pan, melt butter and place as many potatoes as possible flat on its surface. Add the rest of the chopped and sliced vegetables, garlic, and seasonings and don’t stir for 3-4 minutes, until one side of the potatoes have been nicely browned. Stir occasionally for another 10 minutes, adding a little more butter if necessary and tasting for seasoning. Serve immediately — with some poached or sunny-side up fresh eggs from the Farmers’ Market if desired.

Cost Calculator
(for 3-4 servings)

about 1.5 lb potatoes (at $1/lb): $1.50
1 jalapeno and 1 green chile pepper (both at $2/lb): $0.50
1 small fresh onion and its stems (from a bunch of 5 for $2): $0.40
2 Tb butter (at $3/8oz): $0.38
1 clove garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper: $0.20

Total: $2.98

Health Factor

Four brownie points: Hash browns were one of my first favorite foods, but the way it’s commonly prepared is none too healthy — swimming in butter and often some processed corned beef. The almost-boiled treatment of the potatoes in my version keeps the potatoes more crisp than soggy, and the sparing use of butter lets them absorb flavor rather than simply grease. The freshness of ingredients here is also key — with each bright green pepper and additional veggie, the nutritional content goes up accordingly.