Fun things to make with hash browns

There's been an explosion of kitchen creativity during lockdown... but not just of the bread baking variety. I love to see are all the fun things people do with whatever they have in their pantries. And I do mean whatever. It's thinking outside the box in its most tasty form. And today we are looking at the ways people are getting more out of their hash browns. Because they are more than a side dish.

Watch the above to see some fun ideas or scroll down for the recipes.

What you need to remember about a hash brown is that it's basically just grated up potato. Which actually makes it great for a bunch of things other than baking and frying. Here's what we're doing with our hash browns.

Lasagne with layers of hash brown in place of pasta

This is fun because you can make a lasagne even if you don't have the pasta you need and it makes it epic and hearty. Just use your favourite lasagne recipe, but swap the pasta out for still frozen hash browns, Whoa!

It's been going wild on parenting platforms where home cooks and mums have been raving about it for their families. It's not an everyday meal, but it is a lot of fun.

Hash brown casserole

This is such a thing in the US that recipes for it can be found under 'restaurant-style hash brown casserole.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg hash browns,
• 1½ cup butter
• 1 x onion, diced
• 1 x 400ml tin condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• salt + pepper

Method:

1. Defrost the hash browns and break them up in a bowl.
2. Sautee the diced onion in the butter, then mix everything together in with the hash browns.
3. Tip it all into a greased casserole dish and bake at 180°C for 45 minutes or until crispy and golden and serve warm.

Pizza base hash brown

This is the idea of using hash browns as a base or a topping.

1. Defrost your hash browns and cut them in half so so that you have two smaller pieces. Line them up in a pizza tray, fitting them in snuggly and then pressing them flat with a spoon to push their edges together.
2. Bake in a 180°C oven for 20 minutes or until crispy and golden and the edges have fused.
3. It will make a giant hash brown that you can decorate with pizza toppings and pop under the grill to finish off.
   Note: You can also use hash browns to top a shepherd's pie instead of potato. Put them on while still frozen and bake until crispy and golden.

Hash brown corn soup

This trick uses the hash brown potato as the thickener in the soup.
Hash brown is really just grated up potato, so it's a great ingredient and addition, not just cooked and served as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cups frozen corn
• 6 frozen hash browns
• 2 cups water
• 1½ cups milk
• black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, sautee onion and butter until soft.
2. Add in corn and 2 cups of water and bring to a simmer, then drop in hash browns As they thaw, break them up into pieces and simmer gently.
3. Add in milk and warm through, but do not boil. Then blend the soup with a stick blender until desired consistency (I like to leave some rustic pieces of corn and potato). Season with pepper and serve warm.

Tips to get the crispiest hash browns at home:

• Follow the packet instructions
• Make sure you don't stack them, give them plenty of room on the rack
• Cook them on a rack so that the hot air can circulate all around them
• Don't defrost them first, it add extra moisture and makes them soggy