Pytt i Panna
(Swedish potato and meat breakfast hash)
Image by Sharon Hahn Darlin
Like most hash dishes, Swedish pytt i panna, or pyttipanna, is a great way to use up leftovers from a meat and potatoes meal for breakfast a day or two later. Itt's always served by Swedes with fried eggs, pickled beets (inlagda rödbetor), and perhaps a shot of aquavit.
A hearty and surprisingly elegant dish, pytt i panna is enjoyed in all Scandinavian countries. It's known as pyttipanne in Norway, pyttipannu in Finland. Danes call it biksemad.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
- Butter or oil -- 2 or 3 tablespoons
- Onions, chopped -- 2
- Boiling potatoes, cooked and cut into dice -- 1 1/2 pounds
- Cooked meat, cut into dice -- 1 pound
- Salt and pepper -- to season
- Fried eggs -- 4
- Pickled beets, sliced -- about 1/2 cup
Method
- Heat a tablespoon of the butter or oil to a skillet over medium-high flame. Add the onions and saute until cooked through and translucent, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
- Return the skillet to heat and add another tablespoon or two of butter or oil. Add the potatoes and saute, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly browned. Take care not to break them up too much. Remove the potatoes to the bowl with the onions.
- Finally, add more oil if necessary and brown the meat in the skillet. Return the onions and potatoes to the skillet and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Portion the pytt i panna onto warm plates and top each portion with an egg. Add a few slices of pickled beets to each plate and serve immediately.
Pytt i Panna Notes and Variations
- Meats: Beef or pork are the most common meats used for pytt i panna. Leftover roast beef or roast pork work well, as do meatballs and sausages. Ham and chicken are tasty too. And don't feel like you have to use leftovers. Many people these days start out with uncooked meat and potatoes for their pytt i panna.
- Other vegtables: Try using diced root vegetables to replace some or all of the potatoes: carrots, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips.
- Pickles: If you don't like pickled beets, use regular cucumber pickles or other pickled vegetables instead. But pytt i panna is almost always served with a pickle of some kind.
