Hashbrowns or Pizza?

Last Friday morning before work, Allan asked me if we were having Friday night pizza and I told him, “of course, it’s Friday, isn’t it?” He then asked me what kind of pizza we were having and I told him “you’ll see”.

When he arrived home to see me shredding potatoes he was very suspicious. He immediately asked me if we were still having pizza and I told him “yes”. He looked at me perplexed and went into our bedroom to change out of his biking clothes.
When he returned I had spread the shredded potatoes out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and was grating garlic over the potatoes with my microplane. He knew that something was up. I then confessed that we were having pizza with grated potatoes as the crust. Allan then said, “That’s not pizza, that’s cheesy hashbrowns… delicious cheesy hashbrowns, but cheesy hashbrowns nonetheless.”

This pizza was inspired by a recipe from this month’s Clean Eating Magazine, but I added a few MMM touches to simplify and yummy it up a bit.

Cheesy Pizza Hashbrowns

Print this recipe.

4-5 organic potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 oz organic part-skim mozzarella, shredded (for better flavor and to save money buy a block and shred yourself)
2 roasted red or yellow peppers, rinsed and sliced (we like Trader Joe’s)
1/4 c dried tomatoes, rehydrated in warm water and sliced
1/2 c fresh organic spinach
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp chile flakes
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Fill a large bowl half way with cold water. Grate the potatoes, as you  grate place the potatoes into the cold water to prevent browning. Working in small batches, using your hands squeeze water from potatoes, place them in a kitchen towel, roll it up and wring out as much water as possible.

Spread drained potatoes on prepared baking sheet to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Grate garlic over the top of potatoes and drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and top with grated cheese, peppers, tomatoes, spinach and spices.

Bake in 375° oven for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and crust hashbowns are browned around the edges.

What do you think, hashbrowns or pizza?

While the pizza, er hashbrowns?, baked, I prepped the Blueberry Ice Cream Cobbler that is also featured in this month’s issue of Clean Eating magazine. I followed this recipe to the “t”, so to get the recipe, you will have to run to your newsstand and pick up an issue of your very own.

Are you celebrating pizza night with your family tonight?

Allan and I are going on a date night and we haven’t yet decided where we are going, but do know that the night will include dinner and a movie. Can’t wait!