Amazing Transformation—Roasted Potatoes with Herbs de Provence to Sausage Hash Brown

Yes, amazing transformation!  Unfortunately, it’s not on my body (I wished though)!  hahaha…of course, I’m talking about food here on my blog.  If you ever run out of side dish ideas, here’s a quick and simple recipe for you. Roasted Potatoes with Herbs de Provence.  I found some multi-color mini potatoes from the market the other day, they were perfect for roasting.  Simply drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and Herbs de Provence.  Roasted in the oven until they are golden brown and fork tender.  I love the fragrant that the Herbs de Provence brings to this dish, it really made the flavor pops and not over-powering the natural flavor of the potatoes.



We couldn’t finished all of the potatoes that night, so, I saved them for the next day and transformed them into Sausage Hash Brown.  To make the sausage hash brown, I used some red onions, green, red and yellow bell peppers and ground pork (yeah, I didn’t have sausage at home so I made my own).  I think it’s healthier to make your own sausage because you can use leaner meat or even substitute with ground turkey.



Chopped up the vegetables, seasoned the ground pork.  Then, brown the meat and sautéed the vegetables until they are crisp-tender.  Tossed them back together and there you have it.  It’s that simple. 



For a finishing touch, I added a dollop of sour cream and sprinkles of green onions on top.  My kids gobbled up their hash brown in record time!  It was that delicious.



Last but not least, I'm submitting this recipe to Kitchen PLAY's Progressive Party. The US Potato Board is also sponsoring a wonderful giveaway here at Kitchen PLAY. Simply recreate any one recipe from this month’s Progressive Party, post about the experience on your blog and provide a link to your post on Kitchen PLAY to enter. All qualifying bloggers in each course will be entered to win $100 (6 prizes total).  The deadline is April 15, 2012. Please review the complete contest rules before entering. Good luck!





Roasted Potatoes with Herbs de Provence:
2 pounds of multi-color mini potatoes (or any varieties you can find)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
Kosher salt and freshly grounded black pepper to taste

Heat oven at 475F.  Wash, pat dry and cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch cubes.  Just make sure they are all around the same size for even cooking.  I left the skin on because that’s the good stuff.

Place potatoes on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and slightly toss to coat.  Arrange potatoes in a single layer.  Season with Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper.

Roast in oven for 20 minutes, insert a fork to check doneness.  If they’re not as fork tender as you like, put them back to the oven and roast for another 5 minutes until you’re satisfied.  Total roasting time depends on the size of the potatoes.

Rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.  They’re extremely hot when they’re first out of the oven.


Sausage Hash Brown:
1 pound of Roasted Potatoes with Herbs de Provence
1 pound of ground pork (I used lean ground pork, you can also use ground turkey)*
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and grinded
1 red onion
1/2 each of green, red and yellow bell peppers
2 green onion, finely chopped
Sour cream

In a large mixing bowl, mix ground pork with salt, pepper, paprika, and grounded fennel seeds. 
Diced the potatoes and vegetables into bite-size pieces.

In a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and brown the ground pork until cook through.  Break them up into bite-size pieces with a wooden specula while browning. Place in a large serving bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté the potatoes until edges are brown.  Remove from heat and place them into the same bowl with the meat.

Add a teaspoon of olive oil in the same skillet and sauté the vegetables until crisp-tender.  Add the meat and potatoes mixture back to the pan and cook until heated through.
Serve with sour cream and sprinkle with green onions on top.

*Note: if you used ground pork butt, which contains higher percentage of fat, use less oil while cooking and might need to drain off excess oil before cooking the potatoes and vegetables.