Crab Hash
August 25, 2018 by Nicole Collins
Happy Saturday everyone!
It's a good day to brunch, wouldn't you say?!?!?
I need some major sustenance this morning, because I have a looooooooooong weekend of painting ahead of me.
I hinted to you a couple of weeks ago that I was about to start a little kitchen project. Well, that little kitchen project of painting my cabinets and hanging a backsplash has become quite the “if you give a mouse a cookie” situation.
You know the story, “If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.” Then, he needs a straw, and a mirror and a thousand other things before he finally gets tired, wants to go to bed, has to have a glass of milk before bed, and needs a cookie for the milk. It's a total domino effect that comes full circle.
As I was enjoying breakfast with a friend one morning, I was telling her about my plans for the kitchen. She was giving me lots of ideas and was totally helping me see the vision.
Until she said these words that started the spiral...”you know you're going to need to paint the walls, right?”
Thank goodness I had this chat with her early on in the planning stages of my project, because she was totally right. My kitchen walls are an off white that were painted 10 ½ yrs ago. She brought to my attention that if I paint my cabinets a nice, fresh white; I'd be VERY aware of how not white my walls are.
So, then in the midst of accepting that she was right, I made the decision to go ahead and replace the floors (which was already on the agenda for the next year), I sold my dining room table to buy one that will fit in the space better (that unfortunately, I have to assemble), I bought a stand alone pantry to help give me some extra room (that I also have to assemble :-/ ), and now I'm seriously considering replacing my countertops because why not at this point.
All because I gave a mouse a cookie...
Actually, that's not even funny because I've JUST rid my pantry of the mice that were terrorizing my house. But, that's another story for another day.
So between today and tomorrow, I have to finish all of the painting...the cabinets and the walls. Because, the floors will be here before I know it.
Please say a prayer for me!
To help give me all of the energy I need for a long long weekend of work, I'm sharing with you crabby recipe part deux for the week. Today, we're making Crab Hash!
I love hash, because it's really just a fancy word to call potatoes, veggies, and meat that have been cooked in a skillet together. Talk about taking humble ingredients and turning them in to a superstar!
For our hash, we're using red pepper, jalapeno, red onion, and asparagus for our veggies. They get softened in a cast iron skillet with some butter, salt, and pepper, and set aside til we need them again
.
Next, we need to add some crisp and color to our potatoes. My trick to help speed this process along is to microwave the potatoes before tossing them in the skillet. Cooking them most of the way through first ensures the potatoes cook fairly quickly while still getting a nice crusty char on them instead of burning them.
After the potatoes are done cooking with a little Old Bay, we add the veggies back, gently toss in some fresh lump crab meat, and top the hash with some gooey poached eggs, some fresh chopped scallions, and a dusting of more Old Bay.
This is a stick to your ribs, soul warming, completely satisfying hash. The Old Bay and the crab meat lend those classic chesapeake flavors while the gooey egg on top creates a sauce like finish to our crispy potatoes and our perfectly cooked veggies. Wowza!
Alright guys, wish me luck today. I have a feeling I'm going to need it. Thanks goodness I made the smart decision to start my day with a dose of Old Bay.
I hope you enjoy, and let's eat!
Crab Hash
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
2 cups yukon gold potatoes (about 4-5 potatoes)
2 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, divided
2 tsp Old Bay, plus more for dusting
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
½ cup red onion, diced
1 cup asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces
½ lb lump crab meat
¼ tsp salt, plus more to taste
¼ tsp pepper, plus more to taste
8 poached eggs
scallions, for garnish
Directions:
Pierce potatoes with a fork or knife, and microwave for 4-5 mins until mostly softened. Set aside until cool enough to touch.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp butter in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add both peppers, onion, asparagus, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for 7-8 mins until veggies start to soften and slightly char. Remove veggies from skillet, and set aside.
Return skillet to stove top, reduce heat to medium, and add another 1 tbsp butter to skillet. Dice potatoes, and add to skillet along with Old Bay seasoning, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Cook potatoes for about 10 mins, stirring every 3-4 minutes, until softened and browned. If the pan starts to look dry while cooking the potatoes, add the last ½ tbsp butter to the pan. When the potatoes are fully cooked, add veggies back to the pan, toss, and cook for one minute. Add crab meat to the pan, gently toss, and cook for 1 more minute until heated through. Remove from heat.
To serve, divide hash in to 4 portions. Top each plate with 2 poached eggs. Dust with old bay. Garnish with scallions.
Recipe notes:
*You don't have to use a cast iron skillet if you don't have one. A high sided saute pan will work too. I like the extra crisp that the potatoes get from the cast iron.
*Everyone has their own theory when it comes to poaching an egg, but here's what works for me every time. I usually poach 2 eggs at a time. In a small saucepan, heat water and 1 cap full (about a teaspoon) of white vinegar over high heat. As soon as the water starts to bubble, reduce heat to medium high, add a pinch of salt to the water, crack the eggs individually in to a small ramekin, and drop the eggs in to the water. Set a timer for 3 minutes. When time is up, remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon, and carefully pat dry with a paper towel. You could also substitute a fried egg, if you want.
*Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite, but red potatoes would be great here too.
