Winter Dinner: Hash is the Greatest

I have So Many Pictures for today’s recipe. I’m pretty excited. Just so you’re prepared ahead of time: it’s gonna be graphic.

So, everyone everywhere is trapped in the Endless Winter, discovering that we’re all apparently Sweet Summer Children and that all other winters were only pretending. This, I think, calls for a nice, warm dinner that can likely be cobbled together from whatever is already in the house. Even better, this recipe pops in the oven for a bit at the end – meaning that you get to dart around a Nice, Warm Kitchen while the oven is preheating and soak up all the extra warm.  I should note, also, that I’m pretty certain this recipe could be easily modified to work on a wood-burning stove – just cover it up at the end and be patient while the eggs finish.

But that, I suppose, is Jumping Ahead. Back to square one, then: let me tell you what you need for this Hash:

• 1/2 lb. breakfast sausage, or Italian sausage, seasoned ground pork, or seasoned ground beef. You might bump this up to a whole pound if you’re aiming to serve more than two or three, or if the eaters are particularly carnivorous in inclination.
• olive oil, in the order of about 1/8 c (2 T).
• potatoes, about one per total serving – I started with three medium-sized potatoes.
• salt and pepper – If I don’t say otherwise, I always mean kosher salt, and I always mean fresh ground black pepper.
• carrots, along the same order, plus one for the pot – four for me in this recipe.
• onions, 1/2 – 1 whole, depending on your taste. I used red onion because I like the pop of color.
• garlic, as much as you like – five cloves, for me, in this recipe.
• dried thyme or rosemary – or both, if you like, about 3/4 – 1 tsp, total.
• Eggs, one per serving. I used duck eggs, because I had them and they’re so comforting.
• Sriracha and/or ketchup, if you’re me. Lots of other topping possibilities out there, I suppose. But really: Sriracha.

Ok, so you’ve got your things together. If you are cooking from an ice-in, and don’t have one thing or another, I suppose I should note that this is pretty flexible so long as you’ve got a cooking oil, potatoes, and some kind of seasoning. Mind, if you don’t have eggs, I’m not calling it a Hash. But it’ll be good cooked up and topping polenta or grits or pasta, anyway, so who cares what I call it?

And so, Your Procedure.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Get the sausage cooking in a medium saucepan over medium heat – just big enough that the meat has plenty of room. I used breakfast sausage and just let it crumble, because I was partly trying to use up some Odds and Ends. There’s no reason why you couldn’t use slices of Italian sausage, though, or cook up some ground pork or beef and season it to your tastes. This is one of the only steps I don’t have a picture for, because there are few things Less Appealing than raw ground meat.
3. While the meat is cooking, scrub the potatoes and slice them into 1/2 – 3/4 in. cubes. I suggest not peeling them; they feel Heartier that way. But if you hate peels, so be it.
4. Check the sausage – if it is done, drain it and set aside. If not, keep an eye on it throughout the following steps and pause to pull it whenever necessary.
5. Heat the olive oil in a Nice, Heavy, Oven-Safe Pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot (I always use the Teensy Drop of Water Test, because I’m reckless like that), turn the heat down to about a notch below medium and add the potatoes, all at once.  Salt and pepper to taste, and then maybe pepper a bit more.
   

   Here are all of those potatoes, happily sizzling away in the olive oil. I used, as you can see, my cast iron Dutch oven, because (1) it is certainly happy to cooperate either on the stove-top or in the oven, and (2) I Just Like It.

6. While the potatoes are cooking, scrub the carrots (peel them If You Must) and cut them into about 1/2 inch pieces – usually this means rounds for the bottom half and half-moons for the top. Slice the onions into thin half moons – no more than 1/4 in. thick, and 1/8 is better. Mince the garlic or, if you’re feeling a bit lazy, just push it through a garlic press. (I am often feeling a Bit Lazy). This, by the by, is where you could most easily make substitutions, either to accommodate what you have in the house or to vary the recipe once you’re comfortable with it. My suggestions for Substitution Veggies would include celery, fennel (nom), beets, and parsnips, for starters. You could also use frozen veggies, in a pinch, but the Final Result will be…Mushier.
7. About the time you’re done with this prep, the potatoes should be looking golden-y, at which point you can dump all the new veggies in to the pan. Stir them all together so they’re all nicely coated with oil, and let them cook for about 15 min. The veggies to keep an eye on are the carrots (or parsnips or beets, if you’ve used them – and if you do, it’s not a bad idea to parboil them first). You want them to Yield, but not be Mushy.
   

   Look at the colors! I am enamored of these veggies. By the by, you’ll note that I’m using a wooden spoon in this picture. I actually Do Not Recommend this, since you’ll be adding meat momentarily – at which point, I was clever enough to switch over to a spatula, but Alas! I had already unnecessarily dirtied a spoon.

8. Once you’ve got a good consistency on whatever your Stubbornest Vegetable is, add your cooked meat and your herbs. I’ll usually stick with dried herbs in winter and fresh in summer, but I try to note which I mean. This time, I used dried thyme and rosemary, in about equal portions.
   

   Here are almost all of the ingredients, getting to know each other, as well as that plastic spatula.

9. Stir everything together, turn the heat to low, and let everything mingle for about 5-10 min, depending on how hungry you are.
10. Crack the eggs on top of your hash, and move the Whole Operation to the oven. If you’re planning on leftovers, I suggest saving those eggs until the day of; it shouldn’t take much longer, and you’ll be happier with the final result. Warmed over eggs are Not Pleasant, in my opinion.
    

    Thus, my pan was home to only one egg for this round of the cooking. If you’re using more, just try not to crowd them too much – the top shouldn’t turn into One Big Sheet of Egg (which sounds Monstrously Unappetizing, to me). If you’re trying to make this for too big of a crowd, go ahead and take the dishes hit and move half the veggies into another oven-safe casserole, rather than crowd this dish.

11. Let the hash and eggs cook until the egg white is nice and solid – start checking at 5 minutes if you like your eggs runny, as I do, but don’t rush them. If you like your eggs completely done, you can probably safely walk away for at least 10 minutes. Now, incidentally, is an excellent time to wash your cutting board, knives, spatula, and the pan in which you cooked the meat. Wash-up: Done! Heat from the Oven: Absorbed!
    

    Yes.

12. Serve up the hash with an egg per serving, at least. I topped mine with pretty liberal lashings of sriracha, because of course I did. I had some for breakfast one morning with a spot of ketchup, and that wasn’t half bad, either.
    

    Dinner. Perfect.

If you’re worried about this meal not being substantial enough, it also makes a great topping for polenta, or grits, which adds a nice grain element, too. With polenta underneath and a veggie soup or hearty salad alongside, this meal could easily morph into a simple supper for a Pretty Large Gathering, with Relatively Little Fuss. Of course, it would also make a Savory Breakfast.

Or, if you’re more the solo-type, you could do as I did: make enough for several meals, and eat it a different way each time to avoid Leftover Doldrums.

Pumpkin Soup

One or two people hesitantly asked about this whole project, in the sort of voice that said they were sure I’d already given it up, but that it seemed polite to check.

Actually, I hadn’t given it up at all. I just had Several Things Happen, including one heartbreaking, awful thing and one wonderful, miraculous thing (who is already helping glue some of those damaged bits back together with her mama’s help). But neither of those is the sort of thing I come here today to talk about.

I come today to talk about soup, cellar vegetables, and living off of farmers’ markets during the months they don’t exist.

Thanks to freezing and planning, I’m in good shape to make it through the winter without any supermarket veggies unless I just want something particular. However, in my stocking up, I got, perhaps, a little overenthusiastic on the squash. And acorn squash is well and good – the things last forever, and I can think of half a dozen different ways to cook them on any given night. But the pumpkin that was sitting on my shelf…well, I don’t usually use pumpkins for much besides pie.

But then, I made this soup. And squash/ gourd/ Cucurbita overstock or not, I wish I had more pumpkin, now. So, if you’ve got a lonely leftover still haunting your kitchen from holiday baking, might I suggest the following, decidedly-not-pie recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 pumpkin, about 5-6 inches in diameter all ways
• 1 T butter
• 1 onion, any sort (I used red, because it’s what I had on hand, but I think yellow or white would work nicely, too.)
• Garlic, to your taste (I used about 6 cloves, because I love the stuff)
• 1/2 -1 tsp. dried sage (rubbed would be my preference)
• 1/2 -1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 – 1 tsp dried thyme (leaves, not ground)
• 1/2 -1 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2/ tsp salt
• 1 T lemon juice (adjust according to your taste, 1 T is nice and tangy)
• 1 c. milk

Those ingredients yielded me enough for two dinners, so adjust accordingly. It would be incredibly easy to double and makes rather nice leftovers, even for someone with a bit of an attitude about leftovers that can’t be seriously altered or re-purposed.

The herb imprecision is because I wanted mine very savory – full of all kinds of flavors. A better-adjusted recipe might tend more towards the 1/2 tsp measures, but sometimes I don’t want well-balanced – I just want flavors. I’d also suggest marjoram with relatively few reservations; I just happened to be out at that moment.

What to Do

A note: you’ll almost certainly want either a food mill (my preference), a food processor, or at least a blender for this recipe. How long the recipe takes depends on the length of time your pumpkin needs to bake; this recipe took me only about half an hour from start to finish, but the pumpkin was being very cooperative.

1. Turn the oven to 375 F.
2. Cut your pumpkin(s) in half and scrape out the seeds.
3. Fill a baking dish large enough to hold both pumpkin halves, face down, with about 1/2 -3/4 in. lukewarm water. Put the pumpkin face down in the dish; put the dish in the oven. The pumpkins will bake for anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on how thick the flesh is. There’s an outside chance they could take up to an hour, but mine were quite done in just over 20 minutes.
4. While the pumpkin is cooking, get the other ingredients together. First, chop the onion.
5. Heat the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Once the butter melts, toss in the onion.
6. Peel your garlic cloves – I didn’t chop mine at all, but to each his or her own. Into the saucepan with them!
7. Measure and pitch in the herbs, pepper, and salt as the onions and garlic cook. You want to let the onions cook in the butter until they’re nice and soft, but not browned. This should take about five to ten minutes from when they first go into the butter.
8. Once the onion is soft, pour in the lemon juice, stir, and then pour in the milk. Turn the heat down a notch or two to medium-low or just above, and let the whole thing cook for about ten minutes.
9. At this point, your next step depends on whether your pumpkin is done – which you should be able to tell by poking it with a fork, not unlike checking a potato. Poke down near the cut side, as the top may cook a bit quicker.
10. If your pumpkin is not done, return the pan to the oven and continue to check every five to ten minutes, depending on how close you think you are. Turn the heat under the saucepan to very low. Continue to step 11 when appropriate.
11. If your pumpkin is done, pull it out of the oven. Careful with the pan full of water! Use tongs or a large fork to transfer the pumpkin halves to a work area, like a cutting board.
12. Use a spoon to scoop out the cooked pumpkin – it should come away from the outer shell pretty easily. You can drop the scooped flesh straight into the saucepan of other ingredients.
13. Cook everything, all together, over medium-low heat for five to ten minutes.
    

    It’s a bit late in the post for the first picture, don’t you think? I do. But I didn’t think you really needed or wanted a picture of a sliced onion…

14. How to handle this step depends on what medium you’re using to mush everything into one consistency (appetizing description, non?) and how much you hate dishes. If you’re using a blender or food processor, you should be able to just pour the whole thing in – if you’ve doubled the recipe, you may need to work in batches – and process everything on a medium speed. If you’re using the food mill…well, you could pour from the pan and then mill over a bowl. Or pour into a bowl, and then into the mill, and then use the mill over the pan. But if you’re like me, you’ll realize that you already have to wash that baking dish you pulled the pumpkin from. So – I poured everything into the baking dish, then set the food mill over the dish (I used my finest grate), and then poured from the baking dish into the mill, milling back into the sauce pan.
15. Once your ingredients are all nicely creamed together, I suggest letting the soup heat for just a few more minutes – I lasted about three before I decided it was dinner time.
    

    My food mill is one of my favorite acquisitions – look at that soup! Also, I think that this pumpkin soup is the prettiest shade of creamy yellow I’ve yet produced from a soup of any sort.

16. Enjoy!
    

    “Who would not give all else for two p
    ennyworth only of beautiful Soup?”
    to quote the Mock Turtle, who is of course already reciting, so I suppose Lewis Carroll? Charles Lutwidge Dodgson?

The soup should be tangy and savory and warm. I had it with fresh baked pita one night and wheat toast another. Honestly, the soup wants croutons, but that wasn’t what I wanted. However you serve it though…it’s pumpkin, and not pie, and that’s something all on its own.