Many weekend mornings lately have started this way: mince a handful of onion, dice a couple ribs of celery, saute in a little grapeseed oil, add some leftovers and a couple of cubed potatoes, and pretty soon we’ve got hash. It’s gone Mexican, topped with poached eggs and smoked poblano and red onion-laced Hollandaise sauce. It’s gone Italian, flavored with our own version of muffaletta (ham, salami, black olives, pimiento-stuffed green olives, celery, yellow onion, green onion, provolone cheese) that was the previous night’s pizza topping. Making hash makes me feel like I’ve made good use of leftovers in a creative, hearty, and thrifty way.

So this story from the LA Times caught my eye this morning: What makes a good hash. Sarah Karnasiewic, the author, does a nice job outlining hash’s basic theme and variations. If you’ve never made hash before, you should read this article to get inspired – especially if, as in my case, you’re cooking for a family and find it’s easy to get stuck in the “what in the world am I going to feed them NOW!” rut.

I was interested and please to see that my hash-making instincts match a professional’s. Most valuable to me are her suggestions on incorporating different types of root vegetables – and even seafood!