salmon hash with dilled crème fraîche

THE DILLED CRÈME FRAÎCHE

• 1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill or 11/2 tsp. dried dill
• Pinch of salt
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

THE HASH

• 1 1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 lb. Yukon Gold or red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 Tbs. half-and-half or cream
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb. cooked skinless salmon fillet or hot-smoked salmon, flaked
• 3 Tbs. snipped fresh chives or thinly sliced scallion tops
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill or 11/2 tsp. dried dill

FOR THE GARNISH

• 4 fried or poached eggs
• Drained capers
• Fresh dill sprigs
• Prepared horseradish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make the dilled crème fraîche: In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche, dill, salt, and lemon juice, if using. Taste and adjust the seasonings; set aside.

MAKE THE HASH:

1. In a 10-inch cast-iron or other large heavy skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add the potatoes, stirring to coat them with the fat. Cover and cook until the potatoes begin to turn golden and a bit tender with browned edges here and there, about 15 minutes (you should hear only a faint sizzling).
2. Uncover the potatoes and turn them with a spatula. Raise the heat to medium and cook until uniformly soft with some crisp brown spots, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the onion and pat the mixture down with the spatula. Cook until the onion is soft and the mixture begins to stick in a few spots and browns on the bottom, about 5 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, mustard, a pinch of salt, and a generous grinding of pepper. Scrape up the hash and stir in the mustard mixture. Raise the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking the hash, scraping it up and patting it back down another time or two until browned, another 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Mix in the salmon, chives, and dill and cook until heated through, another 2 minutes.
6. Serve hot, topping each portion with a fried or poached egg and a sprinkling of capers. Garnish with dill sprigs or a bit of horseradish on the side, if you like. Top each portion with a dollop of the dilled crème fraîche, passing the rest at the table.

NOTE:

• This recipe calls for plain salmon fillet in the hash, cooked as simply as possible.
• Use whichever method you like best and cook the salmon until it’s cooked through: roasted, broiled, poached, steamed, pan-seared, and even microwaved are all fine.
• Roasting is the most straightforward: Heat the oven to 400°F, coat the salmon with a little olive oil, season it with salt and pepper, and roast it on a rimmed baking sheet until the flesh inside has lost its deep pink color, 15 to 18 minutes.
• If you don’t feel like