Eat: Chickpea & Potato Hash

I just love the word "hash." It makes my mouth water, no matter what words precede it.

Like most people, I am constantly searching for new recipes to try out. I click on random articles on Yahoo's front page, find them in the local paper, in random magazines, and from various other sources. A few weeks ago Yahoo Shine featured a story about one-skillet dinners. I'm all about easy clean up, so I clicked on through and was intrigued by the Chickpea & Potato Hash, mainly because it featured eggs.

I go through phases of being obsessed with certain foods, and my most recent love affair was eggs. So combine "eggs" with "hash" and I was sold.

Even better, the recipe was very simple to put together and took hardly any time to make or clean up. I will admit that the flavor is very distinct and kind of odd at first - chickpeas, eggs, curry, and potatoes don't often appear in combination in any of meals. Ok, they never do. But the more I ate, the more I liked it.

The bonus is that with a few substitutions, it's also pretty healthy and leftovers reheat really well (this means a lot coming from me, as I generally hate leftovers).

Chickpea & Potato Hash
from Shine Food/Eating Well Magazine

Total prep and cook time: 35 minutes, tops
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 cups frozen shredded hash browns
2 cups finely chopped baby spinach
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (or 1 tsp dried ginger)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas
1 cup chopped zucchini
4 large eggs

Possible substitutions:
For a lighter version, use olive oil spray instead of 1/4 cup olive oil to sautee vegetables. That much oil is not needed and adds a lot of unnecessary calories and fat. You could also sub in egg whites instead of whole eggs

Method:
1. Combine potatoes, spinach, onion, ginger, curry powder, and salt in large bowl.

2. Heat oil (or spray) in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potato mixture and press into an even layer. Cook (do not stir!) until crispy brown on the bottom; 3-5 minutes.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Fold in chickpeas and zucchini, breaking up chunks of potato, until just combined. Press back into an even layer.

4. Carve out 4 "wells" in the mixture. Break eggs, one at a time, into a cup and slip one into each well. Cover and continue cooking until eggs are set, 4-5 minutes for soft yolks, 10 minutes for hard yolks.

Nutrition Facts (recipe as prepared according to instructions; nutrition will vary if you use substitutions).
Per serving: 382 calories; 20 g fat (4 g sat, 13 g mono); 186 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 14 g protein; 6 g fiber; 562 mg sodium; 447 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (39% daily value), Vitamin A (36% dv).