Rustic Hashbrowns

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

  Olive oil

  Usually the darker green the oil, the richer the flavour.

  • Extra virgin olive oil is good for drizzling on salads and should never be heated as this destroys the fine properties
  • Lighter olive oil is good for adding to bread, or to flavour a salad or marinade for chicken, meat, fish or vegetables. Lighter olive oil can be gently heated and added to marinades and baking.
• Knob of butter

  Butter

  Unsalted is better for cooking.

  Easy spread butter is ideal for sandwiches and toast.

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• About 200g leftover cooked potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks
• Salt

  Salt

  Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.

  Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.

• Ground black pepper

  Black peppercorns

  Best used as a condiment.

  They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.

  • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
  • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
  • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
• Any chopped herbs

  Herbs

  Ideal for seasoning pastas.

  To keep cut parsley or coriander, put in a hole free polythene bag with a couple of tablespoons of cold water, give the bag a good shake and keep in the salad drawer of the fridge. Herbs should keep for a week like this.