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Hashed Brown Potatoes
Chop up the amount of cold potatoes desired rather fine; season with salt and pepper, and then add 1/4 cupful of cream.
Into a hot frying-pan put 1 tablespoonful of butter; when it is heated without burning, put in the potatoes, packing down evenly, stand over a hot fire for five minutes, then draw one side to moderate heat, and cover so that the potatoes may become thoroughly heated and steamed throughout, the bottom browning. When done, fold over as for an omelet; serve on hot platter garnished with parsley.
A cold-potato dish built on one technique: a hard sear to set the crust, then gentler heat under a lid to steam the interior through. Quantities are left to the cook, which is normal for a recipe of this type.
- The hingePack the potatoes down and then leave them alone for the full five minutes. Stirring at this stage breaks up the sheet and you get loose fried potato rather than a cake that folds.
- Which potatoesCold boiled or steamed potatoes, chopped fine rather than grated, as the recipe directs. Waxy varieties hold their shape better; a floury baking potato is likelier to slump towards mash under the packing.
- QuantitiesThe recipe leaves the amount of potato to the cook and fixes only the cream, at a quarter cupful; that would suit roughly a pound of cooked potato. Much more cream than that and the cake is likelier to steam than to brown.
- Heat management"A hot fire" is a high burner; "moderate heat" is medium-low. On a modern range, sear at high for the five minutes specified, then drop to medium-low and cover. The recipe sets no time for the covered stage, so go by the potatoes being heated through and the bottom browned -- likely eight to ten minutes.
- The panCast iron or heavy carbon steel, sized so the potatoes sit about half an inch deep. One tablespoon of butter is lean for a large pan and butter solids will brown fast at high heat; a mix of butter and a neutral oil is more forgiving.
- FoldingLoosen the edges with a thin spatula before folding, and fold away from yourself in one motion. If the cake sticks, it needs another minute or two rather than more force.
- YieldThe recipe sets no quantity. As a rough guide, about a pound of cooked potato would serve two as a breakfast dish, or three alongside eggs or meat.