Home Fries – Cheater’s Version
On the one hand it’s a bit disingenuous to suggest a recipe is easy – by calling it a cheater’s version – when you have to start cooking the night before. But it really is easy!
If you have the oven on for something else, toss in a couple of medium potatoes to bake. When they’re about three-quarters of the way done, take them out, let them cool, and put them in the fridge overnight. That way you won’t be starting with raw potatoes when you want to cook home fries for breakfast or brunch the next morning.
We’re also lucky that we’re able to connect with a farmer whose eggs we prefer over any that we can get in a store. She is not selling in the places she usually does, of course, and since it’s Passover, we typically eat more eggs over the course of the holiday week. We are grateful that we were able to make a plan with her to drop off money and pick up eggs from her back porch.
There’s nothing quite like the rich yolk of a farm-fresh egg dripping over caramelized potatoes and onions. We will definitely have this again before the holiday is over!
Just to clarify, people tend to use “hash browns” to describe the shredded potatoes that get cooked flat in a sauté pan or on a flat top, whereas “home fries” are chunks of potatoes, also cooked in a sauté pan or on a flat top. What follows are the amounts for two people, but as long as you use a big enough sauté pan, you can certainly double the recipe. You can also add other leftover cooked vegetables, or even sliced bell peppers if you want.
Home Fries with Eggs
Serves 2
2 medium potatoes, preferably baking potatoes
2 Tablespoons canola oil, plus more as needed
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
Optional – sliced bell peppers
½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
¼ teaspoon paprika, or to taste
Optional – leftover cooked vegetables
4 eggs
The day before you plan to make the home fries, preheat the oven to 350°F. Scrub the potatoes, poke all over with a fork, and bake for an hour. Allow to cool before putting in the refrigerator overnight. Note that if you have the oven on for something else, there is no need to change to the oven temperature for the potatoes; instead, you can just adjust the cooking time. If the oven temperature is significantly higher, they will be done in less time; lower, they will require more time. Generally speaking you will want the potatoes to be at least three-quarters of the way cooked, but there’s no need to be precise about this. (You can certainly bake more potatoes and then take a couple at a time from the fridge whenever you want to make home fries.)
Heat 2 Tablespoons canola oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until the onions begin to soften. If you are using the optional sliced raw bell peppers, add them at this stage and allow to soften before adding the potatoes. While the onions are softening, cut the potatoes into ¾-inch chunks. The size is not terribly important – if you like bigger chunks or smaller chunks, that’s fine.
Add the potatoes and begin to sauté. Depending on the potatoes you are using, you may need to add a bit more oil. You want them to stick a bit to the pan so that they brown, but not too much. Add the freshly ground pepper and paprika, and any optional leftover cooked vegetables. Be sure to use a metal spoon or metal spatula to scrape up any browned bits as you continue to sauté everything in the pan.
Cook the eggs to your liking in a separate pan. I prefer fried eggs with a runny yolk, but really any way is fine, even scrambled if that’s your favorite. Serve the home fries hot with the eggs alongside.