Hash browns

September 10, 2011

We've been trying hard to make lots of other Planet VegMel recipes in the last few weeks for the 'that recipe seems very familiar...' event but we're fast running out of days before VegMel turns two! Most of our weekend meals were booked up with outings so we decide to squeeze another remix in for breakfast on Saturday. The recipe in question: Vicki's hash browns.

The hash browns are easy to make but take a bit of time to get together, so if you're someone who needs to eat as soon as they're up and about, make sure you've got some snacks on hand. We made minor changes to Vicki's recipe - swapping chives in for onion (the onions I've bought at the supermarket lately have been consistently gross) and garlic powder for fresh garlic. I think the onion would have been a nice addition but these were still excellent - crispy on the outside, creamy in the middle and with some nice flavours from the stock and the spice powders. Added bonus: these are gluten-free and vegan!

We combined them with mediocre Sanitarium faux-sausages and some sautéed spinach and mushrooms for an excellent start to the weekend.

Vegan hash browns
(via Vicki Vegan
- another contribution to 'that recipe seems very familiar...')

2 large potatoes, peeled
handful of chives, chopped finely
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Massel 'chicken' stock
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper

Boil the spuds in a pot until they're cooked through but not falling apart - 20 minutes at least.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

When the spuds are cool enough to touch, grate them up.

Whiz the cashews, water and the stock, onion and garlic powders in a blender to a smooth paste. Vicki suggests starting with 1/4 cup of water and adding more as you need, but we found 1/2 a cup of water was perfect.

Combine the grated potato, the chives and the cashew paste in a bowl and mix thoroughly, seasoning generously with salt and pepper.

Shape the mixture into four big hash brown patties and place them on a greased oven tray.

Bake for half an hour, turning once halfway through. The final product should be crispy and brown on the outside but soft and still a bit moist in the middle.