Though we’re more than happy to sling out menu ideas to restaurateur friends when asked, we also have a secret game we play whereby every dish we cook up gets graded for whether it could one day occupy the menu of a Hot Knives restaurant. This is one of those dishes: a winter harvest hash that dresses up potatoes like a hot salad.
Obviously, hash browns are the undisputed make-or-break side of any brekky or brunch. But a good hash can be the main attraction, especially if it’s not brown at all, but rather colored with other veggies and speckled with garnishes that elevate it from cheap filler to decorative entrée. Here, we worked with what’s in season, strong green leafies, blanched to retain color, and slow cooked with awesome pee wee banana fingerlings. Plus, it’s a seasonal special that could change weekly or monthly” in spring, try pea shoots and asparagus, etc. With some artful squirts of catsup, this breakfast even looks more like an expensive dinner plate.
Winter Harvest Hash
(Serves 4)
4 cups water
4 Tbs. kosher salt
1 cup kale
1 cup rainbow Swiss chard
4 medium fingerling potatoes
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. vegan margarine
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 medium-sized carrots, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh black pepper
1. Bring 4 cups of heavily salted water to boil in a medium-sized pot. Meanwhile prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and have ready a pair of tongs or salad spoons. Roughly chop the kale and chard, saving the colorful stems for later. Dunk the greens in the boiling water for no longer than 10 seconds and swiftly plop in ice bath to cool immediately. This’ll make your greens… green. Set them aside as well.
2. Get the water back to a hearty boil and drop in the potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes and remove from water.
3. In a cast iron skillet with a lid, or similar large pan, heat oil and margarine on high heat. Add onions and garlic, followed by celery and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile slice your hot potatoes into scalloped spheres and add to the pan. Stir thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook for another five minutes and then add greens to the top. Dice the colorful chard stems and add half of them as well, saving the last for garnish. Cover and cook for 10-20 minutes.
5. Once the greens are wilty and potatoes and thoroughly cooked, stir thoroughly, cook off any excess liquid from greens and plate.
Garnish
ketchup (generous amount)
hot sauce
veganaise
diced purple onion
diced chard stems
6. To garnish: squirt decorative ketchup and hot sauce on plate, add dollop of veganaise and dice the chard stems for a sprinkling on the plate. Then put hash in the middle of the plate and serve.
Beverage: Lagunita’s Sirius Cream Ale
Soundtrack: Beta Band’s “Push It Out”
