Leftover French Fry Hash (gluten free with vegan option)

Okay, I confess that sometimes I feel a little silly asking a restaurant to package up my leftover French Fries. It's not like you're asking for leftover pizza or pasta or something expensive and not easily made at home. Especially considering that leftover fries tend to be kind of gross the next day, either soggy or too hard.

But not when you make them into a super frugal, flexible hash!! Which is, in my humble opinion, the best way to use up leftover French fries. My husband loves leftover fries for breakfast done this way, and I think you will, too : )

Surprisingly, a seemingly small amount of french fries can make a decent amount of hashbrowns, once you cut them up fine. Especially if you add other things in. The above hash served two of us, whereas the leftover fries I started with wouldn't even be one full serving in a restaurant.

Ever since I tried making potato hash out of leftover fries a few months back, it's become one of my favourite breakfast treats, and now I never turn down taking fries home. Of course, you can also have this leftover french fry hash any time of day...

Incidentally, the fries I used in this picture came from Juke, in Vancouver's Chinatown. They have dedicated gluten free fryers for their GF fried chicken and OMG, guys!! It's amazing.

That said, their fries are done in the same fryer as their glutinous stuff. I'm okay with this, but if you're celiac or extra sensitive to wheat/gluten, you should always ensure that the fries you use are safe from cross-contamination.



Since the amount of fries I end up with varies, I don't really measure the ingredients, I just toss things in based on whatever I have in the fridge, though my seasoning is fairly consistent, so here it goes... my basic version, and then the optional add-ins that I toss in when I have them.


Ingredients to make a Basic French Fry Hash


1-2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 cups leftover French fries, cut into small squares
Sprinkle of garlic powder
No more than 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper



Optional Additions


1/2 sauteed red or green pepper (optional)
Spinach or kale, stirred into hash until wilted
Sauteed sliced mushrooms
Green onions
Fresh chopped cilantro
Melted cheese

1 cooked sausage, either crumbled or sliced
2 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
Fried egg on top

Directions

1. If using sausage, bacon, peppers, or mushrooms, cook those in a large frying pan until crispy, then remove and set aside. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add chopped fries and seasoning. Stirring occasionally, cook about 5 minutes, until crispy.

2. If using spinach or kale, add at the end and toss until greens are wilted. Serve topped with any desired additions.

See how easy that was?? 

So now we can all stop feeling silly for taking French Fries home, and instead make ourselves delicious, frugal hash browns for breakfast using those leftover fries!!

Do you ever use leftover French Fries? How do you like them?

Have you seen the latest novel in my romance series, Lady of the Caravan? Get it now, and follow the queen's cousin as she braves the dangers of Egypt's great desert to marry a nomadic chieftain. 

 

 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes * Indigo / Kobo * Inktera * Scribd