When I lived in Connecticut, I used to dream of sitting in European cafés. Now, I've done that in spades... Copenhagen, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Siena, Amsterdam, London, Krakow, and all I want is a proper diner breakfast!
What I wouldn't do for short stack of buttermilk pancakes, a veggie omelet, toast with jam, and the pièce de résistance... homefries!
I can get something similar here, but the closest thing to a proper diner breakfast comes from my own kitchen, and weakest link has always been my homefries... too starchy, too hard, too mushy, too oily, too bland, etc. etc.
So I did what I did with falafel, I tried, I adjusted, I tried, I adjusted, I tried, I adjusted... and then I nailed it!
For one portion:
2 baked potatoes
1/4 cup or so of chopped onion
1 T butter
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t smoked paprika
salt & pepper
If I haven't thought ahead and baked a couple of potatoes in advance (poke with a fork, bake @ 350 degrees for an hour or so), I just "bake" them in the microwave... poke them with a fork, microwave on high for 4-5 minutes, flip and cook for another 4-5, or until they feel soft. The cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes.
Once that's squared away, I cut the potatoes, skins and all into chunks. I know some people prefer little cubes, but my favorite diner in Connecticut did them in chunks like you see in my photo, and so that's how I do them!
Melt the butter in a skillet, then add the onion and cook it until it starts to soften. Add the potatoes, then cook and stir until they're starting to brown and get a bit crispy at the edges. Sprinkle them with the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper, stir, and cook a bit longer to distribute the spices. Sometimes, I smother them in ketchup.
And that, my readers, is how I create American style diner home fries in the countryside of Denmark :)
Labels: food, recipes, vegan, vegetarian
