Dave Shea – Recipes

Crispy hashbrowns

2026-10-03T12:00:00Z

Our typical weekend mornings involve crispy hashbrowns which I've made hundreds of times over the years. Through trial and error I've narrowed in on a relatively low-effort way of getting a consistently good result.

Gear

Box grater
Potato ricer, or a clean kitchen towel
Potato peeler
Cast iron or carbon steel skillet
Medium and extra small kitchen bowls
Kitchen scale

Ingredients

~200g starchy potatoes per person, I use russet
2g salt per person, or 1% of total potato weight
high smoke point oil

Process

Rinse your potatoes, then either peel if you prefer or leave the skins intact but remove blemishes and eyes from potatoes if not.
One at a time, grate a potato then fill either the ricer or the towel with what you've grated and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Potato ricers make this simple, with a towel you'll need to twist up the end to create pressure then squeeze quite hard. Put the squeezed potatoes in the bowl and continue with the rest.
Portion out the potatoes to roughly equal amounts per person. Add one serving back to a bowl and weigh, use a scale to measure out 1% of the weight in salt into a separate small bowl (so, for 250g potatoes you'd want 2.5g salt), and set aside.
Heat up the skillet to medium-high heat. Add 10mL of the oil and swirl around the bottom till smoking. Only now should you add the salt to the potatoes, stir in quickly, then add directly to the skillet. Use a spoon or spatula to spread evenly, then after 2 minutes turn the heat down to medium. Let it cook for another 8 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to keep it from sticking,
After 10 minutes turn back to medium-high heat, total drizzle another 10mL of oil directly on top of the potatoes and flip, let sit for 2 minutes, then turn back down to medium. Once 20 minutes total has elapsed, remove to a plate and serve immediately.

Extra tips

The base recipe here is bare bones, I usually mix in the greens of 1 scallion per person and healthy amount of freshly-cracked green pepper to the bulk potatoes before portioning out.

200g of potatoes makes a medium-sized hashbrown. You can make servings of different sizes, just make sure to adjust the salt too. I use a fine scale to weigh out precisely 1% of the total weight per serving.

Knowing your stovetop's heat is key, with my induction stove I heat up for 5+ minutes at 7/10 on the dial, then turn down to 5 after initial cooking. If your potatoes are coming out crunchy instead of crispy, increase the heat next time. If they're getting too dark and taste bitter, lower the heat. It will take a few tries to dial in for your setting.

Parmesan rosemary pecan shortbread

2025-12-10T12:00:00Z

Classic sweet shortbread, but with some salty savoury flavours for an interesting contrast. I'm still experimenting with the butter/flour ratios, this is my current best thought about what they should be.

Gear

Stand mixer with a paddle attachment
Large baking sheet
Parchment paper or silicone mat (Silpat)
Rolling pin

Ingredients

280g flour, rested in freezer 1hr before making
240g frozen butter, grated with box grater
110g sugar
30g grated parmigiano reggiano
150mL finely diced pecans
2 sprigs rosemary, woody bits removed and finely minced
2 big pinches salt
A few cracks of black pepper

Recipe part 1 – two or three days before baking

Mix the butter at a medium-low speed until it's creamy. Add the parm, salt, rosemary, and flour one at a time until evenly combined. If needed, add a very small amount of water to help bring the dough together.
Seal the dough in an airtight container and rest it in the fridge for a few days. This part isn't necessary, but does lead to a better result. If you're in a hurry make sure to chill it for at least an hour before proceeding.

Recipe part 2 – baking

Adjust a rack to the center of your over and preheat to 180C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1cm thick. Dust the top lightly with flour too if the rolling pin sticks. Use a 4cm cookie cutter, punch out each cookie and place it on the pan with a bit of room between each, then re-roll the dough and repeat until done.
Chill for at least a half hour, longer is better. Bake until lightly golden on the bottom, 16-21 minutes. Remove the sheet and let the cookies cool directly on it.

Notes

Ageing the dough in the fridge is optional, but does lead to more flavour development. If you're going to skip that part, reduce the butter by about 10%.

Also optional: putting the cookies in an airtight container and freezing for at least a month. This allows the salt to start crystallizing and produces a better texture.

I haven't topped these with a sprinkle of Maldon salt after baking yet, but I think that might be a nice addition.

Double chocolate chip cookies

2022-12-01T12:00:00Z

I've lost track of how many times I've made this chocolate chip cookie recipe, but after tweaking and refining over a lot of iterations I'm really happy with it. Simple to make, harder to wait.

Gear

Large bowl
Small pot
Wooden spoon
2 large baking sheets
Parchment paper or silicone mat (Silpat)

Ingredients

170g flour
2 single origin 70% chocolate bars, should be ~150g total
50g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
4g salt
4g baking soda
2g finely-ground coffee
170g butter
200g brown sugar
50g white sugar
2 separated egg yolks + 1 whole egg, whisked well
1tsp vanilla extract
Maldon flaky salt for finishing

Recipe part 1 – two or three days before baking

Before starting, put the chocolate bars in the freezer so they don’t melt when blended in.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, coffee, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir when melted until slightly browned. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
Stir in sugar into butter, and let cool for a few more minutes.
Slowly add in eggs while stirring, then vanilla extract.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until incorporated.
Roughly chop the chocolate bars into 1cm / ½” chunks. It’s okay (heck, even better) if they’re irregular. When the dough is just barely above room temperature to the touch, stir in chocolate.
Seal the dough in a plastic bag or tightly-sealed container and place in the fridge for at least 2-3 days. Longer is better! Go up to 2 weeks, if you can wait.

Recipe part 2 – baking

Pull the dough out of the fridge 2hrs before baking
Preheat the oven to 190C, or 175C for convection.
Separate the dough into 16 even balls, place across 2 parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheets
Put in the oven, spread over two racks if needed, and set a timer for 4 minutes.
At the 4 minute mark, rotate pans and flip racks. Reset timer for another 4 minutes.
Repeat rotate & flip at the 8 minute mark. Reset timer for 2 minutes for fudgey cookies, 4 minutes for firm cookies. Remove from the oven when finished.
After removing, drop the sheet flat from about 15cm/6” height a few times. This helps knock down any height to the cookies and gives them a classic crackled surface. (I like to do this in the oven when rotating the pans too)
Dust the cookies with Maldon salt flakes, and let them cool completely on the sheets.
Sneak one while they’re cooling, nothing beats a fresh out of the oven cookie.
Store in the fridge for up to a week, in the freezer for a few months.

Notes

No volume measurements, sorry. You need a precise scale for these.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is key. If you can find an actual Netherlands-originated version even better, but domestic is fine too.
Grind the coffee fresh, and as finely as your machine will let you.
Aging the dough makes ALL the difference. I’ve done split-batch tests, cooking half immediately and half after three days. No contest.
The base cookie can be modified with extra ingredients that pair well with chocolate to great effect. I’ve done dozens of batches over the years with add-ons like tonka bean, crushed hazelnuts, candied orange peel, diced caramels, crushed candy cane, pink peppercorn, White Rabbit candy, rye flour, and plenty more.