Swedish Hash: Pytt i Panna

Pytt i Panna (AKA Pyttipanna), which translates somewhat literally as "small bits in a pan" is the Swedish version of hash. This is a classic Husmanskost (homestyle cooking) dish, and it is also classic pub food here in Sweden. Swedes don't eat it for breakfast, though - it's a lunch or casual supper in these parts. While it is very easy to make at home, it's made even easier by the vast array of frozen options that you can simply empty into a pan and stick in the oven until it's done (fried egg managed separately, of course). The most common types of pytt I see in the supermarket are Korv (sausage), Ox (roast beef), Bacon, Skinka (ham), Krogar (pub style, usually a mixture of bacon, sausage, and ham), Kyckling (chicken) and vegetarian (mushroom, peppers, and/or zucchini). When served as a supper, it is generally accompanied by diced or sliced pickled beets and/or fermented cucumber pickles on the side.

I've decided to go with Korv for my first from-scratch attempt, and found the whole process very straight-forward with delightful results. I'm using Swedish Falukorv, for which you can substitue by using bologna sausage, German Fleischwurst (or Fleischkäse, for that matter), Lyoner sausage, or even European (Frankfurter) wieners and get a very similar effect. In practice, of course, you can use any sausage you like, including vegetarian or vegan options, or indeed, any of the items listed above.

Pytt i Panna

Serves 2

1 tablespoon canola oil
80 grams yellow onion
150 grams Falukorv (or other sausage, see above)
500 grams waxy potatoes
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Start by warming a large skillet on low heat while you chop vegetables. Also preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F with a rack in the upper middle slot.

Peel and finely dice the onion. Part of the goal is to have all of the pieces approximately the same size, so keep that in mind when you are dicing. The onions will shrink a bit as they cook, but that's fine.

Remove casing (if any) from the Falukorv, and finely dice the meat, keeping in mind that the pieces should be roughly the same size. Go smaller than you think, because what looks small on the cutting board suddenly seems much larger in the skillet.

Add the oil to the pan and turn up the heat to medium. When the oil is hot, add the diced onions and sausage to the skillet, and spread them out a bit. While they sizzle and start to cook, prepare the potatoes. You can stir the onions and sausage a few times while you're chopping potatoes.

Peel the potatoes (or not - you can just wash them if you prefer) and remove any ugly bits. Chop into fine dice (I like to slice each potato into vertical slices, then make piles of the slices to slice again into baton shapes, and then turn to slice into dice, but you can use whatever method you like). It is especially important to keep the pieces small, so that they cook quickly, and so they match (roughly) the size of the sauasge pieces. We're talking smaller than a standard sugar cube, for scale. Perfect dice is not required, but making an attempt at general uniformity makes a more attractive dish. Just think of it as an excuse to practise your knife skills.

One the potatoes are diced, add them to the skillet andd give everything a thorough stir-through. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper (go easy on the salt if you are using a salty meat), and stir through again. Cook, stirring occasionlly for about 10 minutes, and then place the skillet in oven, uncovered, and leave it for 10 minutes. You do not need to use the oven, though. You can also continue to cook on the stovetop, stirring occasionally, for another 10-15 minutes as needed. Test one of the larger potato pieces to be sure it has cooked through, before serving.



While the pytt finishes cooking in the oven, you can use the time to tidy up and lay out any sides (such as pickled beets or cucumbers), and also to fry an egg for each portion. Sunny-side-up is pretty, but poached is another good option. In fact, you can do the eggs any way you like best.

Spoon the pytt from the skillet onto the serving dishes, top with the eggs, and add any pickles you might like. Some folks put a little parsley on top, too, but I don't bother. Boom! Beautiful breakfast, brunch, or dinner.



Freezer: You can make your own Freezer Treasure version, by spreading the diced, uncooked cubes out on a sheet, freezing until firm, and then bagging. You can cook this entirely in the oven, stirring a few times, for about 40 minutes instead of the stovetop method.