Salmon Hash with Creamy Mustard Sauce

I was all set to make this Salmon Hash from Plenty by Diana Henry for last week's Happy, Healthy theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs. Salmon and greens are certainly a good way to "healthy up" a breakfast hash. When I took a closer look at the ingredients, I realized that four of them (potatoes, onion, leafy greens and lemon) were on our list for January's Mystery Box Madness challenge for this week.

January's Mystery Box Madness Ingredients:

*Potatoes
Buttermilk
Flour
Paprika
*Onion
*Leafy Greens (Any Kind)
*Lemon
Honey
Prawns/Shrimp
Feta

Switching gears, I chose another healthy dish (Freekeh with Greens, Fennel and Chile) for last week's theme and saved this wonderful hash (enjoyed as a New Years Day breakfast) for this week. Diana Henry recommends a mustard sauce with this dish and I liked that pairing but decided to replace the heavy cream in her sauce with Greek yogurt to make it a healthier choice.

Diana Henry says, "There are lots of variations on the hash theme, all using leftovers, and, in my opinion, quite often you end up with something better than he original dish. They are all basically fry-ups, and this is rather more healthy than most."

Salmon Hash
Adapted from Plenty by Diana Henry
(Serves 4)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked potatoes, in chunks (I used Yukon Gold)
12 oz cooked salmon & smoked salmon trimmings (in a 2:1 ratio)
10 oz spinach leaves, coarse stems discarded and shredded
salt and pepper
squeeze of lemon juice
small bunch of flat leaf parsley or dill, chopped

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan and add onion and potatoes. Fry over a medium heat until the onion is soft and both potatoes and onion are golden. The potatoes will be brown in places. 

Flake the cooked salmon into large chunks, discarding the skin (and look out for the bones too) and stir in along with the smoked salmon and spinach. Stir everything around gently and allow the spinach to wilt a little and the salmon to heat through.

Season to taste, add the lemon juice and your chosen herb. If you want to smarten this dish up, serve with creamy mustard sauce (recipe below).

Mustard Sauce
Adapted from Plenty by Diana Henry

1 1/4 cups heavy cream (I subbed in the same amount of Greek yogurt)
1 1/2 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
generous squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Taste for seasoning.

Notes/Results: Great flavor--the lemon and dill go perfectly with the salmon and potatoes. I liked the little bits of smoked salmon mixed in with the larger chunks of moist grilled salmon. The Yukon Gold potatoes were creamy with some crispier brown edges--yum! You could leave off the mustard sauce (and maybe top with a fried, runny-yolked egg?) but it added a nice touch. Henry's mustard sauce was meant to be warm and a "looser" sauce with the cream, but I liked the thickness of the yogurt. Although I cooked up the salmon and potatoes (the night before) specifically for this dish, it would be an excellent way to use up leftovers and, with ingredients at-the-ready, it all goes together pretty quickly and easily--nice if you aren't a morning person ;-) or want to get breakfast-for-dinner on the table fast. I will definitely make this again.

This post will be linked up to this week's Mystery Box Madness Challenge at IHCC. You'll be able to see what mystery ingredients, recipes and chefs people chose by checking out the picture links on the post.