The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 157

them, and then fry them (seehere). This allows the oil to
penetrate a little deeper, increases the surface area by
causing the potatoes to blister, and makes for a far crisper
finished product. But who’s got time for all that when
there’saheadachethatneedstendingto?
Instead,it’smucheasiertoslicethepotatoes,putthemon
aplate,andmicrowavethemfortheinitialcookingstep,asI
do for rösti. This’ll let you soften them and cook them
through without having to worry about them getting
waterloggedortoowetontheirexterior,andwhattakesten
minutes in a pot takes under three minutes in the nuker.
Oncetheyareparcooked,Iaddthepotatoestoahotskillet
tobeginthecrisping/charringprocesswhileIroughlychop
up my vegetables—in this case, peppers and onions. In a
hazy stupor, I’ve tried tossing the parcooked potatoes and
other vegetables together before adding them to the skillet,
butthatisanexceedinglybadidea,resultinginburntonions
andnone-too-crisppotatoes.
Youneedtogivethetatersaheadstartontherestofthe
vegetables, only adding the veg once a crisp crust has
developed.
By the way, don’t ever feel like you’re limited in what
youcanputintoagoodbreakfasthash.Cabbages(likebok
choy or Brussels sprouts) develop an awesomely sweet
nutty, flavor as they char. Cured meats like pastrami or
cornedbeefwillcrispnicely,theirfatflavoringthepotatoes
as they cook. Shallots and onions turn sweet and complex,
whilegreenvegetableslikebroccoliorasparagusgetnicely
charredandtender.Bythetimethepotatoesarecompletely
crisp,thepeppersandonionsinthisoneareperfectlytender

andsweet,andthehangoverhasbeguntoemitafaint,highpitchedwhimperoffear.
The nail in the coffin?A dash of hot sauce, which adds
not only a touch of heat, but, more important, vinegar, to
brightenthingsup.
All the awesome smells emanating from the skillet are
enough to work my appetite up into a near frenzy, so a
coupleofeggsinthemixareano-brainer.Youcanfryyour
eggsinaseparateskillet,butit’smucheasierjusttomakea
coupleofwellsinthehash,crackyoureggsdirectlyintothe
pan, and finish the whole thing off in the oven until the
whites are just barely set but the yolks still runny. Start to
finish, it takes under fifteen minutes, which means it’s hot
and on the table all before my wife is even back with the
dog.
AgreatwaytostartyourSaturdayafternoon—brightand
early.