When I think of a plant based Big Breakfast or Brunch, I always think of hash browns as the centre piece. This recipe is for my heart healthy version, made without the salt and fat. They are cooked in a non-stick panini press to make them golden brown without using any oil. To make up for the lack of salt, flavour is added by including onion and nutritional yeast.
For sure, these are time consuming to make, so I often save them for special occasions - weekend brunch with friends, or our Christmas Day buffet. The first time I made them for friends, I made them on the day. But this saw me trapped in the kitchen, rather than enjoying their company! So now, I make them the night before, and reheat them on the day. This can be done either in the oven, or for extra flavour, on the barbeque. If you are lucky, a willing guest will offer to do this task! In either case, make sure each hash cake has room on a rack/grill plate, and are not overlapping, so they can be as crispy as possible when you come to eat them.
Because these don't use oil, they will never get the same crisp as a deep fried hash brown, but you will be pleased with how golden they get. The washing process is super important for making sure the hash cake is not soggy. Don't scrimp on this step!
The flavour of the hash cakes blend well with an array of side dishes, like Homemade Baked Beans, smashed avocado, tomatoes sliced with fresh basil and balsamic, sauted mushrooms etc.
If you are lucky enough to have some leftover hash cakes, they store well in the fridge. They can be reheated again, or eaten cold. Chop them onto a salad for lunch, sneak one for afternoon tea, or enjoy as an accompaniment to soup.
Grate the potatoes and onion. Keep the onion separate.
(I find this is easiest done using a food processor, but my partner prefers to use the box grater, as he can't stand washing the food processor out afterwards!)
Place the grated potatoes into a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water, mix and squeeze the potatoes. The water will become milky. Drain and repeat until the water stays clear. Drain the water.
Squeeze the water out of the potatoes and grated onion. I like to do this using a salad spinner, working in batches. Alternatively, you can wrap the potatoes and onion in a tea towel and squeeze the water out. .
At this stage, you can turn on your panini press, to get it heated up.
Once the onion and potatoes are dry, add them to a dry bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Add handfuls of the mixture to the heated panini press. Close the press and hold the press down for about 10 seconds to make sure the hash cakes stick together. Allow the hash cake to cook for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown. Don't be tempted to open the press too early, as the cake won't release from the hot plates, and will pull apart.
Continue in this way until the whole mix is cooked. Place the cooked hash cakes on a wire rack, to ensure they don't sweat, which would make them moist. Makes approximately 12 hash cakes.
If you don't have a panini press, you can use a non-stick frypan. Add handfuls of the mix to the pan, pressing the mix down with you hand. Cook until the bottom is golden. Turn the cakes and press down with a spatula to ensure the cakes hold together. Cook the second side until it is also golden brown.
Overall cooking time can be reduced if you fill the panini press each time, making large hash cakes. These can then be cut into smaller sections once cooked. A pizza cutter is good for this.
Ingredients
Directions
Grate the potatoes and onion. Keep the onion separate.
(I find this is easiest done using a food processor, but my partner prefers to use the box grater, as he can't stand washing the food processor out afterwards!)
Place the grated potatoes into a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water, mix and squeeze the potatoes. The water will become milky. Drain and repeat until the water stays clear. Drain the water.
Squeeze the water out of the potatoes and grated onion. I like to do this using a salad spinner, working in batches. Alternatively, you can wrap the potatoes and onion in a tea towel and squeeze the water out. .
At this stage, you can turn on your panini press, to get it heated up.
Once the onion and potatoes are dry, add them to a dry bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Add handfuls of the mixture to the heated panini press. Close the press and hold the press down for about 10 seconds to make sure the hash cakes stick together. Allow the hash cake to cook for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown. Don't be tempted to open the press too early, as the cake won't release from the hot plates, and will pull apart.
Continue in this way until the whole mix is cooked. Place the cooked hash cakes on a wire rack, to ensure they don't sweat, which would make them moist. Makes approximately 12 hash cakes.
If you don't have a panini press, you can use a non-stick frypan. Add handfuls of the mix to the pan, pressing the mix down with you hand. Cook until the bottom is golden. Turn the cakes and press down with a spatula to ensure the cakes hold together. Cook the second side until it is also golden brown.
Overall cooking time can be reduced if you fill the panini press each time, making large hash cakes. These can then be cut into smaller sections once cooked. A pizza cutter is good for this.
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