Eat Your Veggies for Breakfast Patties

Everyone who knows me for a little while knows that I live for potatoes. I will eat them in almost any form, any time of day, and many meals in a row — and multiple forms in one meal, if that happens to be an option. I’ve posted other potato recipes here, but this may be one of my favorite.

See, about two years ago, I found a good hash brown patty. Cheap, no weird ingredients, and while they did not cook quickly, they could be left alone while I did the rest of the stuff that needs to get done in the mornings. But that was two years ago, and I’m still eating them. As much as I love the potatoes, I was actually (shhhhh, don’t call out the heresy) getting bored of the same hash browns every morning. I thought maybe I could work something else out, something that would keep the potato part of my breakfast ritual, but add in some additional veggies.

This is what I worked out — this is a soft potato pancake with a great texture from the zucchini and carrots, and a nice savory profile. If potatoes for breakfast aren’t your thing (heresy!), these make a great side dish, as well.

Eat Your Veggies for Breakfast Patties

• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1.75 lbs.)
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup non-dairy milk, warmed
• 1 Tablespoon Earth Balance soy-free margarine (or safe-for-you substitute)
• 1/4 cup green scallion tops, chopped (about one bunch worth)
• 1/2 lb. carrots, shredded (organic if possible — this makes a big difference in taste)
• 1/2 lb. zucchini, shredded
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dill
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (beware of malt — gluten — added to cheaper versions)
• 1 Tablespoon ground psyllium husk
• oil of your choice, for sauteeing, less than 1/4 cup overall, but it’ll depend on the size of your pan and how many batches of potatoes you do

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add salt. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender. If you salt the water well, you may not need to add more salt to the recipe over all

Chop scallions and shred the carrots and zucchini.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon or so of oil — you want enough to coat the bottom of the pan, but not deeply. Add the carrots, dill, and garlic powder, stir and sauteé over medium for a few minutes. Then add the zucchini, stir well, and when the carrots are tender but still have a bit of crunch, you’re done.

In another pan, over low, heat the non-dairy milk and margarine or fat just until warm and melted.

Drain the potatoes and mash with the non-dairy milk and margarine. Then mix in the scallions, carrots, zucchini in with the mashed potatoes, adding the turmeric, psyllium husk, and vinegar, and mixing very well. Taste and adjust the seasonings if you need to.

Form patties of about 1/4 cup each — I used a measuring cup to scoop and then formed the patties with my hands. This made about 15 patties, which is so perfect for a work week of breakfasts. The patties are all cooked, but to make them awesome, you’ll pan fry them right before eating.

Now, you can cook these immediately, if you’re a morning person and did all this in the morning, but you can also refrigerate the patties you just made (put wax paper between the layers and cover them, airtight) and pan fry them fresh and hot in the morning.

Either way, heat your skillet first, over medium, then add a skim-coat of oil. If you’re cooking them just after making them, 2-3 minutes per side should give you a nice golden brown crust on each side. If they are coming out of the fridge, it took 8 minutes for the first side, 6 for the second, using a cast iron skillet over medium heat, to get a perfect crust and thoroughly heat the patties throughout.