Sometimes I get into a dinner rut…okay, more than sometimes. It happens all the time. You would think I have an awesome archive of recipes that I can just fall back on, and I do. But some nights I just want to make something weird, different, or completely unusual for me. When that happens, I flip through my seemingly endless supply of cookbooks, scanning through the pages with post-its, or skipping those for something that I wouldn’t normally bookmark. Or, I look through blogs or Pinterest. Last time that happened, I searched through my Second Avenue Deli cookbook. The recipe that jumped out at me? Corned beef hash. Maybe it was because the directions called for a meat grinder and I have one? Or maybe just because it was so weird it has to be good? Either way, I had to make it.
Off to Pomegranate I went for some corned beef. I was hoping the butcher would grind it for me, you know, to make my life a little easier/less messy, but he told me no! When I told him why I wanted it, he looked at me like I was crazy, and told me under no circumstances was I to grind my corned beef. Instead, he explained, I was to slice it, cut it into strips, and then using my biggest chef’s knife, chop it into tiny pieces. He said the texture would be much better for a hash and he would never grind corned beef (this got me thinking – anyone ever try a corned beef hamburger?). So I got home and did just that.
The corned beef hash was a hit, by the way. Leftovers were browned on the griddle and served with eggs. Delicious. But not for breakfast.
Corned Beef Hash, adapted from the Second Avenue Deli Cookbook:
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
- 1 pound corned beef, very finely chopped
- 3 cups peeled and boiled red potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- Some pepper
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine corned beef and potatoes. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute the onions until they start to soften.
4. Add the green peppers and the garlic until they soften and the onions turn brown.
5. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the bowl with the corned beef and potatoes.
6. Add the pepper and mix all ingredients well.
7. Grease a baking pan and spread corned beef mixture so it’s even (and about an inch thick)
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is browned.
9. Serve alone or with some poached eggs.
