Fennel and Potato Hash Browns

A bag  of frozen hash brown potatoes from the supermarket is a great timesaver, so occasionally I will buy one to keep in the freezer.  There are times when a skillet of brown and crispy hash browns is the perfect side dish, and I really love them, but who wants to shred raw potatoes to make them from scratch.  Definitely not me,  thus the frozen variety in the freezer.

Last weekend I was making a fast meal on a hot evening and a wanted a side dish to go with the salmon kebabs and white bean salad, so I thought about the hash browns as a good go-with.  However I wanted to “doctor” them up a little, so I quickly added some thinly sliced fennel and some onion.  These were then sautéed together in a little olive oil till tender and nicely browned.  Wow! were they good.  Sometimes the most unexpected combinations turn out to be the best.  This is what I did:

FENNEL-POTATO HASH BROWNS

Slicing up the fennel and onion.

Servings:  about 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 2 cups cored, thinly sliced fennel bulb
• 1/2 cup  (1 medium) vertically sliced yellow onion
• 1  1/2 Tbsp. fennel fronds, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

1.  Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to pan; swirl to coat.

2.  Add the hash browns, fennel, and onion to the pan;  cook about 12 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.

Cook it all together till nice and brown with crispy bits.

3.  Remove from heat; stir in the fennel fronds, salt and pepper.

Serve on a platter, garnished with fennel fronds.

SOURCE:  a Carolyn Original