Autumn Hash with Halloumi and a drizzle of Cranberry

Hey there!

 

So before I get talking about another delicious recipe I first want to quickly tell you about and amazing experience I had last Sunday. As you might know I am most definitely not the only Swiss foodie, there are lots of them out there. A few weeks ago, lovely Laura reached out to me and asked whether I wanted to join a group of Swiss foodies, which I was so happy about. We then managed to organise a meet-up at Bebek Café in Zurich, where we were enjoying the most amazing brunch served while chatting about all sorts of things from food over travelling to future plans, just as if we’ve known each other for ages. It was so amazing to get to meet this lovely bunch of girls last Sunday and I seriously can’t wait for our next meet-up. All thanks to social media, I am actually quite amazed what the amazing things the Internet brings about when using it correctly. Just in case you want to check out the other girls and their food, here are their instagram accounts: @mylifeisdelicious @annashealthyveganfood @healthyyfood @conniemaisie @fashionhelly @healthyfoodproduction @stephanieeats  @xocel @carmen_mira @cleanfoxx @_lauraalexandra

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Now let’s get on to some serious food talk. For some reason I was really craving potatoes. I was thinking about preparing baked potatoes, maybe a potato bake or even mashed potatoes. But none of those really seemed like something that would satisfy my craving. Then something my dad used to prepare popped into my head. He used to make potato hash and it was always so yummy, a little crispy, though still soft and unlike chips not at all greasy.

 

My intention was set I would give myself a go at preparing a potato hash. Since we’re still having autumn around here I decided to create an autumn potato hash. I really wanted to include Brussels sprouts as well as cranberry sauce, I find those Ingredients to be such staples in the autumn cuisine. Yet I wanted to mix up the potato bit and went with half regular potato, half sweet potato. For a little tartness I also chopped up an apple, it’s important though, that you chose a rather sour variety since your sweet potatoes as well as the cranberry sauce contribute enough sweetness already.

 

At first I was going for quite a classic as an accompaniment. I was intending to serve this lovely hash with some ordinary fried eggs, nothing special, but I ‘m sure it would have been tasty as always.

Then however my friend Corinne and I got talking about halloumi today and suddenly I had another craving. I want halloumi that was all I could think about. Hence I tossed the fried egg idea and used halloumi instead. It actually ended up being a perfect combination. Even though halloumi is traditionally served in the Mediterranean cuisine it went perfectly well with these rather northern flavours. It actually tasted pretty amazing. Since I used so many different flavours I omitted any kind of herbs, I just used a clove of garlic as well as salt and pepper. The amazing flavour combination created by these rather plain ingredients was absolutely perfect and didn’t need any enhancement whatsoever.

 

For the actual cooking phase I decided to prebake the veggies to speed up the cooking process and I highly recommend to follow my example otherwise you’ll be stirring your hash for hours, which you do not really intend to do, am I right?

 

Well, now it ‘s your turn to get cooking. Here you go, the recipe.

 

Ingredients

 

• 4 potatoes
• 2 big sweet potatoes
• 500g Brussels sprouts
• 2tbs cranberry jam
• 8 slices of halloumi (about 200g)
• 1 apple
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 onion
• salt
• pepper
• canola oil

 

1. With a fork prick some wholes into the potatoes and sweet potatoes and then roast them together with your Brussels sprouts at 200°C for 30 minutes.

 

2. After 30 minutes your veggies should be nearly cooked through, but still firm enough to be cut into cubes. When they have cooled a little you can cut the Brussels sprouts into quarters and the two potato varieties into 1cm cubes.

 

3. Also chop up an onion, one clove of garlic and cut an apple into small cubes.

 

4. Heat up some canola oil in a saucepan and add the onion, the garlic as well as the apple cubes, fry over high heat until the onion has browned and softened slightly.

 

5. When your onion, apple and garlic mixture is ready add the sweet potato and potato chunks as well as the Brussels sprouts, also add salt and pepper to taste. Fry over high heat and stir continuously, so the vegetables can evenly brown.

 

6. When your veggies have browned, this can take up to ten minutes, lower the heat to low and cover with the lid.

 

7. Now you can prepare your halloumi, cut your halloumi into 5-10 mm thick slices and fry in a frying pan over high heat until golden brown on both sides, there is no need to add any oil.

 

8. While your halloumi is frying mix 2 tbs of cranberry jam with 1 dl of hot water, so you can then drizzle it on top of your autumn hash

 

9. When your halloumi is done, distribute it evenly on top of the veggies and drizzle your cranberry sauce on top.

 

Voila, you just created a truly delicious autumn meal. Sweet potato, potato and Brussels sprouts hash with halloumi and a hint of cranberry and apple, what a delight! This was such a perfect dinner for a cold autumn night. The tartness of the apple together with the very salty halloumi and then the sweetness of cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes just added up to an amazing tasting flavour combination. And then obviously the potatoes which I just added to kind of neutralise the flavours and the lovely Brussels sprouts, which are just a staple in autumn cuisine.

So guys, wouldn’t this be a great dinner to prepare the next time your cooking? Quick, easy and so amazingly tasty, what else could you ask for?

 

Bisous

Fanny, the foodie