Sausage and Leek Hash

Looking for a quick and easy recipe?  Here's one that is sure to please no matter what the season.  It's so simple and requires only one pan, so even the clean-up is fast.

I originally found this recipe in a one-pot cookbook my mother-in-law brought with her from the UK.  Since I did not have my own photo from the last time I cooked, I found this one online, and it belongs to the exact recipe I followed several years ago when I first started cooking it!  I have translated to American measurements, and include my somewhat modified version.  You can, however, find the original recipe under the photo source link.

Photo Source

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
• 4-5 average-sized potatoes 
• 1 bunch leeks
• 1-2 tbsp. horseradish cream sauce - if you can't find this in the store, use 1 part horseradish to 3-4 parts heavy cream for a similar taste
• Olive oil 

Directions:

1. Pan fry sausages in small amount of olive oil. Turn over to cook on all sides. Cover pan.
2. Remove sausages and slice into 1/2-inch pieces. They may still be somewhat undone in the middle. This is fine.
3. Add thinly sliced potatoes to the pan. Cook through for about 8-10 minutes, turning potatoes over and making sure they aren't sticking to one another - if they do, they will be a little raw and crunchy.  
4. Add sliced leeks after potatoes have softened for 3-4 minutes.  I hold some leeks for the end of the process so they are a bit crunchy.
5. After potatoes are mostly cooked, add sausages again, stirring the whole pan several times.  You will need more time if the sausages were a little undone after the initial pan-fry.
6. Add 1-2 tbsp. of horseradish cream sauce, depending on taste.  

I absolutely love that there is no need to be precise with this dish.  Add more leeks to your taste, go lighter on the sausage - or even use a chicken or turkey sausage - to suit diets.  This is such an easy recipe to modify.  Once you cook it once or twice, you won't need to look at the recipe at all.  Believe it or not, it also freezes well for a few weeks.  This is a great dish to double; keep one for your own family, and give the other to a family who's just had a illness or a new baby arrive.  This has certainly become one of our favorites!

Enjoy!