Author Notes:
When I was at The Vanderbilt, I ordered the hangar steak because it came with horseradish hash browns. I took the flavor idea home with me, flattened them out, and paired them with the bacon vinaigrette from OB Cookie’s winning potato soup.
Pick up a hangar steak and fire up your grill, or simply top the hash brown with a fried egg and the bacon vinaigrette. You won’t send me hate mail, I promise.
—Amanda Hesser
Serves: 4
Ingredients
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3
tablespoons prepared horseradish, plus more to taste
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8
small white potatoes
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Salt
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Coarsely ground black pepper
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Canola oil (or other cooking oil that you like)
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4
slices bacon, cooked until crisp
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3
scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
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3
tablespoons red wine or apple cider vinegar
Directions
- Spoon the horseradish into a small, fine-mesh sieve. Using the back of a spoon, press the liquid from the horseradish. Peel the potatoes, and shred them on a box grater. Gather them up, a handful at a time, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then set the grated potato in a mixing bowl. Add the horseradish and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Cover the base of a large cast iron or non stick skillet with 1/8-inch oil. Warm over medium high heat until the oil shimmers and a potato strand added to the oil sizzles. Cook a pinch of the potato mixture, then taste and adjust seasoning, adding more horseradish and salt, if needed. Add a small handful of potato to the pan and use tongs to spread it into a rough circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Continue with the remaining potatoes, filling the pan without crowding it; save some for a second batch if needed. Cook until chestnut brown on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes, then turn the hash browns, and brown the other side, about 3 minutes. The trick is to brown the outside while allowing the potatoes on the inside cook through.
- Meanwhile, mix the bacon and scallions with the vinegar. As the hash browns finish cooking, transfer them to a baking sheet lined with paper towel and keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Hash browns don’t like to be stacked or they get soggy. Serve the hash browns and pass the bacon vinaigrette at the table.
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Small white potatoes gather by the grater. Horseradish hangs in shadow.
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It's important to press as much juice as possible from the horseradish. Hash browns are crispest when the potatoes are dry.
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Peeling potatoes while Francesca slices scallions.
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Time for grating — I used a traditional box grater. Works like a charm.
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While grating the potatoes, you might as well get the bacon browning.
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Mound o' taters.
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You need to squeeze as much liquid as possible from the grated potatoes. Gather up just enough to fit in your palm….
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Then s-q-u-e-e-z-e!!!!
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Add the pressed horseradish, and lots of salt, and mix it all up.
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I like to cook them in a cast iron skillet, but non stick is fine. As you can see here, I didn't use enough oil. You want to shallow fry the hash browns, so they brown evenly and cook through…
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Hash browns are like cookies — they don't like crowding in the pan.
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Pressing down the hash browns with a spatula helps them cook more evenly.
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Peeking!
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As the hash browns cook, finish up the bacon vinaigrette. Slice the scallions.
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Chop the bacon.
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Combine the bacon and scallions with red wine vinegar.
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The hash brown, at your service.
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Now topped with a bacon cap.
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