Paleo Hash Browns

I roasted a spaghetti squash one night, with no actual plan to include it in a meal–I had just neglected it for a few weeks, and started to feel like I was going to waste it if I didn’t hurry up and do something with it. I pulled out the “threads” and WHAM! I had an epiphany of sorts. I thought the “threads” looked a bit like shredded potatoes. These hash browns don’t have the same texture as a traditional potato hash. The squash “threads” will caramelize and stay slightly crunchy, so you get a very similar effect. This isn’t really a quick meal, but it’s definitely a cheap one with lots of variation possibilities. I served this particular hash brown with an over easy fried egg.

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash

1 yellow onion, finely diced

2 T rosemary, finely chopped

Olive Oil

S&P

Method

Get your oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil. Split the spaghetti squash in 1/2. Use a fork to remove all the seeds. Like I’ve said before, don’t be too anal about getting out all the gunk, you won’t even notice it once the squash has roasted. Lightly drizzle some olive oil inside the cavity of the squash and lay it face down onto the baking sheet. Roast for approx. 20 minutes, flip the squash over and roast for another 15 minutes. I decided to roast the squash at a ridiculously high temperature so it wouldn’t take as long and I wanted to see some caramelization on the squash. You’ll know it’s done when you take a fork to the squash and it “threads” very easily. Remove from the oven and let cool so you can handle it.

While the squash is roasting, heat some olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onion. You don’t want to hear a sizzle when you add the onion. Turn the heat down if this happens. We don’t want burned onions! Let the onions cook until they’re translucent and slightly golden. Add the rosemary and some S&P.

Once the squash is cooled. “Thread” it and add to a large bowl. Add the onions and mix around to roughly incorporate.

Turn the burner up to medium high heat and add more oil to your saute pan, if you need it. Take a spoon (or my favorite tool, your hands) and patty up some of the squash mixture. Saute it until it’s carmelized and golden brown, about 10 minutes on each side. Repeat until all the squash is gone.


Comments

12 responses to “Paleo Hash Browns”

  1. I wonder…

    Can you make the squash in advance the previous day and fry it with the onions the day after? It sounds a fantastic recipe for breakfast but you wouldn’t want to wake up several hours earlier just for that!

    1. yes! both ways work, as i tried them both.

  2. i can’t wait to try this recipe next weekend! i keep a no-carb breakfast policy 6 days a week, saturdays are my “fun day”, with primal pancakes and such. next weekend, i will be trying either the sweet potato pancake or this recipe. i will be featuring the results on my blog.
    thanks for the inspiration! your site is simply delicious!
    -liz

  3. I tried these today and they didn’t turn out at all. I was really dissapointed as I was looking forward to these. I cooked the squash the night before so all I had to do was cook the onions and make the patties in the morning. They cooked and cooked forever without ever browning so when I finally turned up the heat they burned. It took over an hour to cook all the patties. Totally not worth it. They did have a really nice flavor though with the rosemary. The patty in your picture looks so nice and golden brown but this just didn’t work out for me. I think I will stick to making zucchini and sweet pot fritters instead.

    1. i made this a while ago, so it’s hard for me remember exactly how it turned out. i’ll try and re-do this and see what happens.

  4. I’m sorry to say I have to agree with Jamie, they did not want to brown, they soaked up all the oil and then burned. I really wanted them to turn out well, oh well, I have enjoyed your other recipes, thanks!

  5. I also just tried making these for lunch on top of my salad and the same thing happened as everyone else was saying it didn’t come together as a patty really just soaked up the oil and burnt . Wish these came out better yours look amazing ! How did u do it

  6. Try putting the “threads” in a towel and squeezing over the sink. Tons of water came out of mine. They will more likely brown with the water removed. If they have a lot of water they’ll just steam and stay soggy. And be generous with the oil.

    1. genius. i’ll re-work this and see how it goes. many thanks bren!

    2. good idea. also i’ve noticed the less i cook the squash, the less mushy it is and more crunchy~ maybe that would help also. 🙂

    3. I followed Bren’s advice and also added coconut flour and an egg, to make them more like potato pancakes (latkes). I had the stove halfway between low and high, and I added a couple of tablespoons of oil each time I fried 3 at a time. (I’ve had lots of experience with latkes, so one gets used to adding a little of this or that!) I didn’t prefry the onions. I used the microwave (slice in half, remove seeds, add a little water to the indentation and cook for 6 or 7 minutes) to soften the squash. Bottom line: yes, it takes time, but they were excellent! Browned and cooked all the way through.

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