Parsley and potato ~ Ham Pie Sandwiches

09 April 2007

Parsley and potato

Mmmm, parslies.

The parslies are growing so hard I can barely thin them out. They are very excited about entangling themselves firmly behind each others' leaves so as to shove themselves further and further toward the sun. Then I confuse them by turning the pot around, and they get even more tangledy trying to whip themselves back in the other direction. Then I have to untangle them all in order to thin out the old, the weak, and the infirm, and scatter the thinnings over a vast plate of homefries.

Homefries are way easier than hash browns, which I find odd, since it's more or less the same food in the end. Only the texture is different.


Homefries

all your redskin potatoes
6 or 7 cloves of garlic
a shallot
olive oil and butter
salt, pepper, cayenne, parsley

Run your potatoes under cold water and scrub off any filth. Then, without peeling, chop them into cubes. I had a vast potato flotilla to contend with on this occasion.

While you're chopping, heat a pot of water to boiling. Dump in your cubed potatoes and parboil for five to ten minutes. In the meantime, peel and chop your garlic and shallot. When the potatoes have let off a huge froth of starch, take them off the heat and drain.

Warm up a large sauté pan, add some olive oil to coat, and add your potatoes, garlic, and shallot. Spice with cayenne, salt, and pepper, and ripped parsley, and stir to mix. Then let everything sit and cook over medium-high heat. Depending on how hot your pan is, it may take anywhere from five to fifteen minutes for the bottoms of your potatoes to start turning golden brown. I was cooking pretty slowly so as not to burn the garlic to death, so mine easily hit the upper limit.

Turn your homefries with a wide spatula, trying to keep them in large chunks. This may or may not work. You also may need to add more oil or butter as you flip each chunk. Cook another five minutes, over slightly higher heat, until the underside has crisped up and turned golden.

You are done. Get those homefries out onto plates and eat with potential extra salt, pepper, and ketchup. Have tea. Have a mimosa. Have some eggs. Good morning!