I’m a sucker for an easy dinner – something thrown together using the contents of the cupboard or fridge. It’s usually because I’ve forgotten to take something out of the freezer for a ‘proper’ dinner. Or I haven’t even thought about it, and suddenly it’s 6pm and I need to make something appear.
So I have little staples hanging around to help. Tins of tomatoes, mean I can do a pasta or curry in a hurry. Similarly a tin of coconut milk, and a jar of paste work wonders. And thanks to Ye Olde Oak, I’m adding a tin of hot dogs to that list.
My mum used to use them for pasta sauces, – they add a little soft smokiness to a tomato sauce, and of course are an easy fix for fussy kids. They’re a quick addition to a mac and cheese. You can slice them on a pizza, or of course, use them as actual hot dogs.
This time, I didn’t have any bread buns, nor any cheese. But what I did have was a few veggies that needed a little tlc, and a box of eggs. So I went with my ‘I can’t be bothered, need something ready in a few minutes, but want it to be a proper feed’ dish. Hash.
For me there are two types of hash. Corned Beef hash (a speciality of my husband) and a potato hash. The latter starts with a base of potato, or sweet potato, and then it’s a case of adding whatever you’ve got to hand – onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, even root veg like carrots. I add a little spice for flavour and of course top it with a fried egg or two.
You can, if you have them, use cooked potatoes. In this case I didn’t which is why I cook them off first, and why I cube them pretty small. That little extra effort saves on a lot of cooking time. Keep the heat at a medium level til they’re soft, then whack it up higher when you add everything else, so it’s almost a stir fry process. The other positive to cooking the potatoes for longer than anything else is that the cubes will start to get brown and crisp. Delish.
Of course, you could edit this to make it veggie or vegan instead, use it as a side dish, or even as a breakfast. In fact… Maybe that’s what we’ll have tomorrow!
Easy Potato Hash with Hot Dog Sausages
Ingredients
- 1 tin Hot Dog Sausages
- 2 Large potatoes, finely diced (or bigger chunks if using cooked potato)
- 1/2 tsp Chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp Ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder/salt
- 1/4 tsp Onion powder/salt (if using onion salt, be more gentle with your salt and pepper)
- Pinch each of oregano and cinnamon
- 1 Pepper (colour is your choice), chopped
- 100 grams Mushrooms, chopped
- 1 Medium onion, chopped
- 4 Medium free range eggs
- 2 tbsp Oil (coconut, vegetable, rapeseed, whatever you use for cooking)
- Salt and pepper.
Instructions
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Pop a big frying pan on the heat and add 1 tbsp of the oil.
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Add the potatoes and cook on a medium heat until they're softened.
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Once the potatoes are cooked - or almost there - add the spices and the onion, and bring the heat up to medium-high. Cook, stirring regularly until the onions start to brown at the edge.
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Add the mushrooms and cook until they've gone through that weird absorb liquid then lose liquid stage.
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Add the rest of the veggies, and the sausages. Cook until the veggies are just beginning to soften and you've got some crispy bits of potato going on.
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In the meantime, in another pan, head the second tbsp of oil, and fry the eggs as you prefer. Drain on kitchen paper.
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Once all the veggies are softened enough, and you've checked the seasoning, we're ready to serve.
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Divide into two bowls, top with the eggs, and enjoy!
