Baby If You Could Cook, I'd Marry You!

Well, I can.

But I'm already married...

Whenever I go to a pot luck, I'm at a loss.  People have different dietary needs than they did 20 or 30 years ago.  Today I had lunch with friends.  One can't eat grains and one is a vegetarian.  That combination limits the choices a bit, but last night I emailed my friends and announced I would be bringing "a potato, veg, cheese thing".

So here's my recipe for

Potato-Veg-Cheese Thing

One Large Russet Potato
Start with a large russet potato and grate it into a bowl of hot (not boiling), salted water to remove the excess starch.  If you don't do this, your spuds will get sticky as they cook.  Use the large hole size grater because you will be making hash browns.  Rinse a few times if needed to remove excess starch.   Drain the potatoes well before cooking.

Hot Skillet with sunflower oil
Next get a large cast iron skillet with a little sunflower oil and heat it over a medium to medium high burner.  Spread the potatoes thinly over the skillet in the hot oil (without splattering yourself).

The secret to getting really crispy hash browns is to leave them alone.  Just let them cook.  If you turn them too soon, for some unfathomable reason they will mush up, instead of crisp up.

So to help keep you from micro managing your potatoes, now is a good time to grate some onion, using the same grater you just used for the potatoes and set it aside until needed.

Now is a good time to peek at the potatoes.  Using a spatula, test to see if the bottom of the potatoes are crispy.  If the spatula slides under the potatoes fairly easily, than it might be ready to turn.  You should be able to turn the whole thing in one piece like a large pancake.  Once you've flipped it, you will see a nice crispy brown layer of grated potato.  Allow the other side to get crispy.  Add a little drizzle of oil around the outer edge of the potatoes if needed.

When the potato is crispy on both sides remove it to a pie tin and set it aside.

Onion
Now reduce the temperature to low and add the grated onion to the skillet.  I dry cook the onion on a lower temperature to remove excess moisture which might otherwise cause the potatoes to lose their crispness.  Remove the onion when cooked and layer it on top of the potatoes.

Mushrooms
Heat a combination of butter and olive oil gently in the skillet and add sliced mushrooms.  Sauté the mushrooms until they are lightly browned.  Remove from skillet and layer in the pie tin with the onion and potato.

Mixed Veg
Now add a little more olive oil to the pan and lightly sauté a combination of fresh, sliced vegetables.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Today I had on hand, broccoli, asparagus, carrot, snow peas and spinach, and I added a little garlic to the veg.  When finished, layer the veg into the pie tin.

Cheese
Grate a combination of cheeses that you like over the top of the layers, and place in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes to rewarm the dish and melt the cheese.

There you have it.  Gluten free, grain free, and fine for any vegetarian who eats dairy.  This is a versatile dish which can be made to taste, using any veg you like, or spices.  You can also add meat.  And for a variation you can make a quiche by adding eggs and cream, but you have to use a slightly different method if you want the potatoes to stay crisp.