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Home >> Lifestyle: Meat
& Seafood:
- "Something
Different"
- Updating Chicken
Hash
BY DANA
JACOBI FOR THE
AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR
CANCER RESEARCH
According to the dictionary,
“hash” means something chopped in small pieces. It
also has the meaning of making a mess, or making a mixture from
things previously cooked and then combined to make something
different. For a great plate of hash, all three definitions apply.
Hash is what I call a high-and-low
dish. It started out as a way of using leftovers, particularly
cooked beef, extended by mixing it with vegetables. In America,
the word was first used in the 1700s, in reference to Shepherd’s
Pie, a plebian food that is part of our British heritage.
By the 1800s, inexpensive restaurants
called hash houses were known for their mediocre food. According
to a menu from 1850, the Eldorado Hotel in California’s
gold rush country offered “Low Grade Hash” for 75 cents
and “18 Carat Hash” for one dollar. These are parts
of hash’s low history.
Then, during the last century,
hash moved up the culinary ladder until it began to be served
in posh spots like the 21 Club restaurant in New York City. At
one point, 21’s famous chicken hash was the best selling
item on the menu. Because of its persistent popularity, it is
still on the menu, but slimmed down and now served with baby
spinach and toast - for $36.00.
The challenges in making good-tasting
and nutritionally sensible hash requires the right combination
of chopped meat and other ingredients, usually including potatoes
and a creamy binder, and frying it to create a crisp outer crust
using a modest amount of a healthful fat.
For my own chicken hash, I
follow the third definition above and use flavorful roasted chicken.
In place of cream sauce, I use just enough butter and reduced-fat
milk to create a rich, creamy binder. I also add generous amounts
of chopped sweet pepper, celery and onion. Finally, using cooking
spray keeps the fat content low and helps brown the hash to perfection.
Creamy Chicken Hash - Makes 4 servings.
- 1 scrubbed medium (6 oz.),
russet potato
- 2 Tbsp. butter or canola oil,
divided
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green
bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red
bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 small garlic clove, finely
chopped
- canola cooking spray
- 2 cups (8 oz.) diced skinless
cooked chicken breast
- 2 Tbsp. reduced-fat (2 %)milk
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, or
to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black
pepper
- 4 Tbsp. prepared barbecue
sauce
Shred the potato and set aside.
(It will darken in color, but this will not affect hash.)
Heat 1 tbsp. butter or oil
in a medium/large non-stick skillet. Add onion, bell peppers,
celery and garlic. Sauté until lightly browned, 5 minutes.
Push vegetables to one side of pan. Add remaining butter or oil.
Add potatoes and mix with oil to coat them. Mix and combine well
with the vegetables. Cook 3 minutes. If potatoes stick, scrape
pan vigorously and move contents around pan to spray the bottom
with cooking spray.
Mix in chicken, milk, cayenne,
salt and pepper. Spread and flatten out the mixture into a thick
cake. Use the edge of a pancake turner to cut it into 4 sections.
(Or, hash can be broken into rough pieces while cooking.) Cover
the pan. Cook until potatoes are tender and hash is lightly browned,
3 to 5 minutes, turning so bottom sides can also brown. (Spray
pan with oil spray if necessary while turning hash.)
When hash is done, divide equally
among four plates. Serve with barbecue sauce drizzled on top
or around each portion. (If desired, sauce can be first be thinned,
by mixing 4 tablespoons sauce with 4 tablespoons milk.)
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Per serving: 235 calories, 9 g. total fat (less
than 5 g. saturated fat), 13 g. carbohydrate, 23 g. protein,
1 g. dietary fiber, 195 mg. sodium. |
“Something Different” is written for the American Institute
for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy
of Soy and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before
It Starts.
AICR offers a Nutrition
Hotline (1-800-843-8114)
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday. This free service allows you
to ask a registered dietitian questions about diet, nutrition
and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focused exclusively
on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a
range of education programs that help Americans learn to make
changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative
research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities,
hospitals and research centers across the U.S. It has provided
more than $65 million for research in diet, nutrition and cancer.
AICR’s Web address is www.aicr.org. AICR is a member of the
World Cancer Research Fund International. |
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RECIPE POSTED MARCH 21, 2004 |
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