Fennel and Potato Hash

In the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine, fennel was highlighted in the "At The Market" section. We've been a bit intrigued by fennel as an ingredient since I made a fennel and citrus salad last year, so I found a recipe that looked right up our alley and planned to make fennel and potato hash one Saturday morning for breakfast.



The recipe:
2 fennel bulbs with fronds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into .5 to .75 inch cubes, patted dry
.5 teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
.25 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley



After cutting the fennel up into half-inch pieces, cook it in boiling salted water until it starts to get tender. This should take about 3 minutes. Drain it and set it aside.





Heat up the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, then add the potatoes and cook them until they're golden and crisp, turning often. This should take 20-25 minutes. Then, using a masher (or the top of a meat tenderizer like I did), crush the potatoes in a skillet. Add the fennel, salt, and pepper. Keep cooking until the fennel is golden, which should take another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and the fennel fronds.





Elizabeth jumped at the suggestion to put a fried egg on top of the dish, and I even tried one (usually I'm a strictly scrambled kind of guy).

This was an instant favorite for us. It was a little labor-intensive for a breakfast, but a lot of that time was spent turning the potatoes every few minutes. And man, was it worth it. The potatoes were perfectly cooked - nice and crispy on the outside with a flavorful softness to the inside. I find fennel always adds an unexpectedly welcome flavor to dishes - often I don't expect it to fit in but it always finds a way. For me, the egg kind of put a damper on the textures I was getting from the rest of the dish, but maybe that's from a lifetime of hating on non-scrambled eggs. Elizabeth didn't seem to have a problem with it.



Definitely give this one a try. A nice hearty breakfast with some flavor.