Wicked Good Hash

For my parents, and for generations before them, particular meals in Newfoundland were synonymous with a certain day of the week. Which meal and on what day undoubtedly varied from region to region, town to town and even between families in the same town for sure, but there was a custom and tradition to the whole thing, based around the seasons, and available ingredients. For instance, my mother tells me that in her household in Trinity Bay in the 1950s they had Jigg's Dinner every Tuesday and Thursday, no exceptions. Some times they would have straight up Jiggs, while other times there was a roast and gravy, usually wild game such as moose or rabbit. Fridays were likely fish (even though they were Protestant), Saturday was a soup day (either vegetable and rice or pea), and the rest of the week was either fresh fish, boiled beans (white beans, onions and salt meat) and likely another soup day. Lunches consisted of leftovers from the night before, fried potatoes, bread and of course fish, which could be cod, trout, salmon or capelin. I'm sure many of you reading will have your own memories of what your family ate on what day.

Growing up in rural Newfoundland when I did in the 1980s and 1990s, we didn't have a set or traditional menu for every night of the week like it used to be, with one exception. Every Sunday, and I mean every Sunday we had what we would call "Sunday dinner" or "cooked dinner" (of course it was cooked right) and nine times out of ten we had it for lunch, not supper/dinner, even though most Newfoundlanders call lunch dinner, but that's another story. Every Sunday Mom would have the full spread of potatoes, carrots, cabbage and turnip boiled with salt beef or salt spare ribs, peas pudding and all. In the oven there would be a roast of some kind, either a stuffed chicken, a chuck roast or a pork roast, and of course there was gravy to be smothered over the works of it. Making the gravy was actually one of my first jobs in the kitchen at home.

Finished plate of hash

You really can't beat a meal like this, and ask any Newfoundlander and I am sure they will tell you the same thing. One of the great bonuses of having a great meal like this were the leftovers. Mom always cooked more than we could eat on Sunday with the sole purpose of having "hash" on Monday for supper. If we had any meat and gravy leftover to go with it that was grand, but if not we were happy enough to have some fried bologna (bolonie). Cooked in the cast iron skillet and served with the bologna and sides of ketchup, gravy, mustard pickles and pickled beets, it was a fine supper indeed. Growing up in my own little world around the bay, I thought hash was a Newfoundland thing, but apparently cultures all over the world do a similar thing with leftovers, and more often then not it includes left overs from a boiled or roasted dinner, or something similar. In the US there is corned beef hash, a diner menu staple of fried (pre-boiled) potatoes, onion and minced corned beef. The British have "bubble and squeak", apparently named for the sound it makes while cooking. Bubble and squeak is very much like Newfoundland hash in that the leftover vegetables from a roast dinner are fried crisp in a shallow pan and served with pickles. In Denmark there is "biksemad:, Scandinavia has "pyttipanna", and my favorite of all is Scotland which has "rumbledethumps"! I really think I have to come up with a more catchy name for our version besides just plain Jane boring "hash". 

Since I moved away from Newfoundland I certainly do not have "cooked dinner" on a weekly basis, however I do try and make it with corned beef (which I love like you wouldn't believe) once every month or two (not enough I know). Last Sunday we did just that and had a huge scoff of boiled dinner with a roast turkey. The dinner was absolutely delicious and was enjoyed by my seven in-laws (one of which is a Newfoundlander herself - my wife's brother's wife) and my wife and I. Luckily there were plenty of leftovers as I was dying for some hash the next day.

While I love my mom's hash, even at a young age I would tinker with mine to make it the way I loved it. My family would be sat down to the table eating away and I'd have my hash slid back into the fry pan trying to get it crispier. Eventually I started making the family hash, and would start off by sauteing some onion, and adding herbs. What I was going for was good texture and flavor throughout the hash. I wasn't looking to just warm up some leftovers, I wanted to get tender onions, crispy potato pieces, caramelized bits of cabbage and carrots, and juicy morsels of meat. With a little bit of TLC it isn't hard to do.

Ingredients:
- vegetable oil

Leftover turnip, carrot and cabbage ready to get hashed

- onion, diced
- Leftover- vegetables from boiled dinner (aka Sunday Dinner, Jigg's Dinner, Cooked Supper, Corned Beef and Cabbage), including: potatoes, cabbage, carrots and turnip.
- Leftover meat, such as: salt beef, corned beef, roast chicken or turkey, pork roast or roast beef.
- Herbs (dried savory, fresh parsley or whatever you like)
- Salt and pepper
- Poached or fried eggs for on top (optional)
- Sides, such as pickled beets, mustard pickled, bread and butter pickles.

Directions:

You can cook your hash almost however you like and I'm sure it will come out very well. What I'd like to share is how I think you can maximize the flavor potential of your hash and get the best tasting hash you've ever had. Instead of throwing everything is a skillet at once and letting it heat through or get fried on one side, I stage the process to ensure that everything gets well crisped and certain things don't overcook. I like to use a large cast iron skillet to make hash in, but a non stick fry pan will also work great. I'm not giving amounts here, as you have to use whatever leftovers you have. Use the amount of onion according to how much hash you want to make and how much you like fried onions.

Crispy hash, just waiting for a fried egg

Heat some oil in the skillet over a medium heat and add diced onion. Cook for a couple of minutes, increase the heat to medium high and add chopped potatoes. You can't beat fried spuds so I think it is imperative to get a crisp going on these. Add a little more oil if necessary. Once the potatoes have started to brown, add the cabbage. I never knew how much I liked cabbage until I had left over cabbage rolls reheated in a skillet. The cabbage got all browned and caramelized on the  bottom and the taste was out of this world. I try and recreate that taste with my hash, so I add it at this stage so it will get a chance to crisp along side the potatoes. I also add my diced corned beef or salt meat if I have any left, as it gives off a little of its fat, which the spuds and cabbage love. Once these have browned and are crisp I add the chopped carrots, and whatever meat I have (the picture from my hash the other night had turkey), mix it through, and then add the turnip. I usually season with salt and pepper and some dried savory at this point and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until everything is hot. I love this hash for breakfast, lunch or supper, and I love having a runny fried egg on top as well. I certainly enjoyed eating my hash cooked this way, and I hope you will too. I just have to come up with a catchy name for it. Any suggestions?

The Wicked Good Egg...Get Crackin

Today was another one of those hectic work days where by the time I got home from work, walked the dog, ran some errands and did some chores, it was after 8, and I had yet to eat supper. On days like this I often turn to one of my favorite foods to bail me out, without compromising taste and nourishment....eggs. I love breakfast and brunch and unlike some people I have no issue with eating breakfast for supper/dinner. I've always been that way. I always thought it was a real treat when occasionally as a kid Mom would make eggs, fried bologna, hash browns, toast for supper, orange juice and all. That's still one of my favorite suppers. Needless to say I am also a fan of the diners and restaurants that serve an all-day breakfast.

So, back to my habit of weekday supper and eggs. With the voice of James Barber (The Urban Peasant) in the back of my head telling me to use what I have on hand and be creative with ingredients, I always seem to be able to pull together a satisfying supper. By using a combination of what I have in the fridge, whether it be bell peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, onions, sweet potato, potatoes, garlic, herbs, cheeses, bacon or sausage, I am always able to make something unique and tasty without too much time or hassle. Sometimes I incorporate the eggs and the other ingredients together to make omelets or frittatas  (and my favorite...the skinny frittata), while other times I make a hash out of potato and veggies (with or without meat) and top it with fried or poached eggs. When I'm extra hungry and in need of some extra carbs I have a slice or two of toast with jam to go along side. You can't beat toast and strawberry-rhubarb or partridgeberry jam with savory hash and eggs.

  As you can see in the photos I like to have my eggs in a variety of ways. Over the coming weeks I plan to submit recipes for some of the specific combinations I have created. I have potato and bell pepper hash with chorico sausage and poached eggs, sweet potato hash with bacon,  a Mexican skinny frittata with salsa and hot sauce, a linguica sausage, potato and onion hash with fried eggs, and the list goes on. Stay tuned.In the meantime, the next evening you get home from work and are short on time and energy, give breatfast a try.

Corned Beef Hash

After last week's post about Diners and Ruben Sandwiches, it's only fitting that I continue with another diner staple this week...corned beef hash. To the best of my knowledge, you won't find too much homemade corned beef hash in Newfoundland, but you will find plenty of hash made from the leftovers of Jiggs Dinner. For myself growing up we usually had hash for supper on Monday nights. Mom would usually cut up the left over potato, carrot, turnip and cabbage, and throw in a bit of salt beef if there was any left, and give it a quick fry in the cast iron skillet in a bit of butter. When I started to get into cooking I took over the hash duties at our house, and I used to begin with frying onion, and then adding the potatoes. I would cook them until they got a bit crispy and then would add the remaining vegetables. I would also like to season my hash with salt and pepper, and sometimes some dry savory and paprika. The biggest difference in mine and Mom's was that I liked to have more of a crispy crust on mine. We'd usually have this with some Newfie steak...aka bologna. And not just any bologna mind you, it had to be Maple Leaf. Some of the other stuff really does taste like lips and ....well you know what. A bit of fried bologna (boiled if Mom and Dad were on a diet...that one I never understood), the hash and some ketchup and it was quite a feed.

Diner style corned beef hash is quite simple. Usually it consists of skin-on red potato pieces (usually pre cooked), a bit of onion and chopped corned beef, seasoned with paprika or seasoned salt, and cooked on the flat top. Some diners will make it with tiny diced potatoes, but I'm not a huge fan...it reminds me of the canned corned beef hash that many Newfoundlander's are likely familiar with. Some people love this stuff but I think it smells like cat food and has way too much salt.

As I said last week, I like to cook a corned beef brisket just for the sandwiches. That was a bit of a fib, as I also do it for the hash. Below are photos of two types of hash I made recently. The first is the more traditional diner style. For this recipe I used leftover new red potatoes, onions and chopped corned beef. It couldn't be simpler to make. Here is a recipe for 4 hearty servings for a brunch side dish

In a large skillet, over medium heat, add:
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
Cook until the onion softens a bit, and add:
-  about 8-10 small cooked and cooled red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
Season with a little salt and pepper and fry until crispy, about 5-7 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium low and add a good handful of chopped coked and cooled corned beef.
Cook for a couple more minutes in order to heat the corned beef through.
Serve onto warmed platter. Great with eggs cooked any style, and some hot sauce!

The second hash I made has the same ingredients, but was prepared differently. For this one I used my mandolin to make shoestring potatoes (raw) and cooked the potatoes first until they were tender and crispy, and then added minced onion (so it would cook faster) and then the corned beef. I finished it off with some green onion and seasoned salt. I have to say, I liked the second version a little better, but both are outstanding!

Sunday Breakfast. Poached Eggs and Chorico Hash

This past weekend, my wife and I watched "Julie and Julia", the new hit movie about the life and times of famous American chef Julia Child and the birth of her revolutionary cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". But that's only half the story. The other side of the movie follows the modern true story of Julie, a bored government worker who takes on the daunting mission of cooking every recipe from Child's book in a single year, posting the whole thing on her blog.

The movie was quite enjoyable. For foodies I'm sure it was especially fun. I found myself laughing and craving butter throughout the film, long after I had devoured my popcorn. When I woke up Sunday morning I was ready to cook. For beakfast I whipped up a quick potato and Portuguese chorico hash with a poached egg and toasted French bread. The poached egg was inspired from a scene in the movie, plus my wife loves them.

Later that day I tackled Julia's "Boeuf Bourguignon, a delicious rich stew with carrots, pearl onions, mushrooms and a lot of red wine. First I share the eggs and hash with you, and the boeuf will follow soon.


In a large non-stick skillet or wok pan, heat:

1 Tbsp of olive oil
Dice 2 medium potatoes, and saute over medium heat.
When cooking hash browns like these from raw potato, I find that it is best to keep the heat on medium so the potatoes have a chance to cook through....about 10 minutes. Once they are nearly cooked (taste one), add
1 2-3 inch piece of Portuguese chorico sausage, diced.

Saute together for a couple of minutes, season with salt, pepper and a few shakes of paprika and a dash of cayenne if you like some extra heat. Keep the hash warm while cooking the eggs.

Poached Eggs
For the eggs, fill a flat bottom pan with two inches of water and bring to a simmer. Crack eggs individually into a small bowl, and slide one at a time into the simmering pot. It is important to use fresh eggs so they do not spread throughout the pan. Gently give the water a swoosh to create a slight whirlpool action and the eggs will begin to set and gather themselves. Some of the whites will escape, but don't worry. Using a spoon or spatula, gather the edges of each egg to encourage it staying in one place. Keep a gentle motion in the water so the eggs swim to doneness. In no time, you will have a delicate, runny egg. By all means cook longer for preferred doneness. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat let air dry for a few seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve atop the hash with a nice slice of toasted bread and butter.

Bon appetit!