Hash Brown Wrap

Hash browns trace their name to the French "hacher" — to chop or cut — which gave English the word "hash". The shredded, pan-fried potato cake became an American breakfast institution in the late 19th century, when cookbook author Maria Parloa included a recipe for "hashed brown potatoes" in 1888. Diners across the United States adopted it as a side dish, and by the mid-20th century it had spread globally through the influence of American fast-food chains.

The potato itself has one of the most dramatic food origin stories of any ingredient. Domesticated in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia around 8,000 years ago from wild, bitter species, the potato reached Europe only in the 1560s when Spanish conquistadors brought it back from South America. For 200 years Europeans were suspicious of it — it grew underground, produced no obvious grain, and belonged to the same family as deadly nightshade. Then a French agronomist named Antoine Parmentier convinced the world to eat it, and the modern diet was transformed.

A wrap built around two crispy hash browns, two fried eggs, cheese and BBQ sauce is unabashedly comfort food — the crunch of the potato against the soft egg and molten cheese is textural pleasure in its simplest form.