Smoked salmon hash

 

The premise of hash is more or less throwing what you've got in a pan, so I didn't feel too badly about having to improvise the ingredients in this recipe. It called for smoked trout, which I could get if I schlepped about a bit, but smoked salmon from the grocery store was handier. The smaller grocery store I was at didn't have mustard greens or chard, so I went with the arugula and watercress I already had at home. And it called for a poached egg and I opted for frying because I was running out of time and patience. It's well within the spirit of hash.

Smoked salmon hash with mustard greens

Adapted from Eating Well April/May 2006

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound precooked diced potatoes (look for them in the refrigerated section; I found them in the dairy aisle)

2 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

4 ounces smoked trout or salmon, flaked

4 cups chopped greens, such as mustard, chard, arugula or spinach

4 cooked eggs, optional

Method

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook, stirring now and then, until potatoes are crispy and browned.

Whisk mustard and vinegar together. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the potatoes in the pan along with salmon and greens. Cook until greens are wilted.

Top with a cooked egg, if desired. Since this is from Eating Well, they called for a poached egg.

Rating: Tasty. I'm sure mustard greens would have made it spicier, but this worked fine. A fast weeknight supper if you use those cheater potatoes I'd never realized existed, or if you have leftover potatoes lying around. We found the egg on top to be a nice touch, but it's entirely optional.

Red cabbage apple slaw with blue cheese, pistachios and Calvados dressing

The red cabbages from my garden stay really fresh for a super long time when harvested in the very late fall. This was one of the last to go, and still nice and crisp. But I'm ready for spring vegetables, any time now ...

Apple slaw with blue cheese and pistachios

From Real Food, Fall 2008 (the magazine they give away at Lunds)

Ingredients

½ small head of purple cabbage

2 green onions, green parts only, finely snipped

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons Calvados or applejack

½ cup mayonnaise

2 crisp small apples

½ cup shelled salted pistachios

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

Method

Finely slice red cabbage (I used a mandoline). Combine with green onion, vinegar and salt. Toss to mix.

Combine mayonnaise with Calvados. Core and thinly slice apples, tossing with mayo mixture as you go so apples don’t discolor and it gets well mixed. Combine with red cabbage mixture.

Shortly before serving, mix in pistachios and blue cheese. 

Rating: Unusual combination of flavors, but it works well. Would pair well with steak or roast turkey.

Note: Obviously the Calvados doesn't get cooked or anything, so you might substitute sparkling apple cider if need be.

Drink and a nosh: Violette cocktail and parsnip hummus

 

This is one of those empty-the-liquor-cabinet recipes. Well, depending on what's in your cabinet.

Violetta thyme

From Kindred cocktails

Ingredients

1½ ounces gin

¾ ounce St. Germain

¾ ounce lemon juice

½ ounce Crème de Violette

½ ounce Maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo

1 dash Angostura bitters

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. (Use a fine strainer to catch the thyme leaves.)

Rating: St. Germain and thyme notes are nice. Violette liqueur makes for an unusual color. Fine enough, although I'm starting to think I'm not in love with Luxardo's liqueur. Minus that note, I think I'd like it better.

Spicy parsnip hummus 
From "The Paleo Foodie Cookbook" by Amy Vartanian. No, I have not gone Paleo. Never going to happen. But I recognize a good recipe from any source.

Ingredients
2 cups parsnips

½ cup tahini

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Paprika for garnish, optional

Method

Cook parsnips in boiling salted water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and put in food processor. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, olive oil and red pepper flakes and puree. Season to taste with more salt. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish.

Rating: Further proof that you can make hummus out of almost anything. The sweetness of the parsnips contrasts nicely with the hot pepper and bite of the garlic. If you want to be all Paleo, you can have it with pea pods instead of pitas. Personally, I could just eat it with a spoon. Very repeatable.

Play along: Chastity Brown, "Back-road Highways." If you've got Amazon Prime, you can listen to it for free streaming.

Sausages with kale mashed potatoes

 

This is essentially bangers and mash with kale snuck in. And apparently we still need comfort food. It just finished snowing. Could it be finished for the year? Please?

Sausages with kale mashed potatoes

Adapted from Rachael Ray Everyday Food, April 2017

Ingredients

2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

8 chicken and apple sausages

4 tablespoons butter

1 large leek, washed, trimmed and chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

4 cups chopped kale leaves

1 ¼ cups milk

Method

Place chopped potatoes in a large pot with enough salted water to cover. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook potatoes until tender enough to mash. Drain and mash potatoes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sausages in a baking dish for 25 minutes or until browned, turning once.

Melt butter in a large, deep skillet. Add leek and thyme and cook until leek is softened. Add kale leaves and cook until wilted. Add milk and bring to a simmer.

Add mashed potatoes to skillet and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve potatoes topped with sausages, two sausages per person.

Rating: Tasty comfort food for a weeknight supper. Kale isn't overly obtrusive in this case.