When someone mentions hash in a culinary sense, most folks assume the corned beef variety and breakfast or brunch. That said, a hash is merely any dish made from chopped (often fried) meat, potatoes, and other ingredients (often peppers and onions at a minimum). Its name comes from the French hacher, which means "to chop." And the recipe we're covering today does a lot of that, but with chicken as the meat and in a fashion better suited to lunch or dinner. And it's a lovely vehicle for embracing fall without ignoring the beautiful garden bounty that still fills our kitchens. This version calls for potatoes, onion, peppers, and - if you have them - two kinds of garlic. Yum!
Can you use different kinds of potatoes, peppers, and onions? Yes. Can you add other veggies? Yes, with a few caveats. First, try to keep the amount of potato you use consistent (though you can make it a mix of different potatoes, including sweet potatoes). Second, keep the overall amount of additional vegetable matter consistent. That is, if you have about 4 cups of veggies in the recipe below, if you add another chopped ingredient (say, diced turnips), reduce one or more of the other ingredients to allow yourself to add the other ingredient. Finally, if you add fairly wet ingredients (think zucchini or chopped tomatoes), you might have a wetter dish unless you drain away liquid either before or after cooking. That said, a slightly wetter final dish isn't bad … I just want to give you a heads up on that possibility.
I like serving this dish with bread or rolls or toast and a nice side salad. Pick something seasonal and enjoy the bounty while we've got it. Oh, and enjoy!
Chicken Hash
- 1 pound baby new potatoes
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 ½ cups)
- 4 small multicolored bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (about 1 tablespoon)
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken - rotisserie chicken is great for this
- ¼ cup chopped green garlic - omit if unavailable
- ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
Place the potatoes in a large pot and add cold water to cover by 1 inch; bring to a boil over high. Add 1 tablespoon salt; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife or fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes; set aside, and let cool. Cut cooled potatoes into quarter wedges; set aside.
Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until they lightly brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cut potatoes; cook without stirring until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the bell peppers, garlic, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Add the stock, chopped chicken, and green garlic - if using; cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat; stir in the sun dried tomatoes and serve.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 40 minutes