City Chick Cooks

this is a dish i created on a whim one weekend in durham. i was craving hash browns so i thought i would try to create something. if it turned out yum, then i could give my roomie some bfast 🙂 if not, oh well the potatoes needed to be used up anyways.

ps – usually i add some sweet corn kernels in here and/or mushrooms… the other night i was just lazy. use this as a base recipe for whatever you want to add 🙂

i was inspired by these hash browns, or home fries as they call them up here, that i had at brunch with my siblings here in nyc. this was a few years ago, and i was still in college so i was used to takeout chinese being a splurge meal. their home fries were the best i’ve ever had. until i recreated it 🙂 now its not really hash browns of home fries, but a roasted vegetable side dish that goes with everything.

the restaurant is now closed down, but all i remember is that there were these seeds that smelled almost indian… and i couldn’t put my finger on it what they were. (this was before my obsession with food got outta control) a year went by, and another, and i got this spice rack from bed bath and beyond. i was sniffing all the spices when i had my ah-ha moment – they were coriander seeds!

thus began my adventure.

i don’t know how or why i used the spices and ingredients i did, but i got LUCKY because it was delicious.

start off my scrubbing some red potatoes.

then put a good amount (if i had to guess i would say at least 2 tablespoons) of coriander seeds in a ziploc bag, and bang away with a meat mallet to pop some open. watch those fingers!

you don’t need to pop them all, just some to help release their flavor.

then, get the “marinade” together. pour enough olive oil into a large bowl to coat all of the potatoes, chopped. then add a squirt of brown mustard, half a spoonful of turmeric, a small spoonful of creole seasoning (i used tony’s), a small spoonful of garam masala and a bit of kosher salt.

seriously, i dont know what i was thinking. but it works. trust me.

whisk briskly.

mince 3 cloves of garlic.

add garlic to the oil-mustard-spice mixture. also add the popped coriander seeds.

add chopped red potatoes, and toss until everything is nicely coated. you can also add whole mushrooms here.

(this is a mixing bowl, not a skillet)

pour everything onto a cookie sheet and spread into 1 layer. try to keep space in between to allow everything to brown nicely.

slide into a 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, tossing one time about halfway through.

usually, i add extra veggies. to do this, about 5-7 minutes before the potatoes are done, toss in some fresh sweet corn kernels so that they only slightly cook and keep their crunch. you can also add onion chunks and mushrooms about halfway through the roasting time. or carrots for the whole time. i like to toss the veggies in the leftover “marinade” from the bowl before tossing with the potatoes in the oven. play with it 🙂