It always gives me great pleasure when someone gets in touch with me about a column. I was especially tickled today when my stepson texted a photo of his breakfast place with the message, “Wonder where I got the inspiration for this?!” And just like this week’s Berkshire Eagle column suggested, he improvised with what he had on hand, including carrot slices in today’s version of his leftover hash.

HASH TAG

by Elizabeth Baer

Maybe you’re cooking a roast for Christmas dinner, or maybe it’ll be a Thanksgiving repeat, another turkey. (After all, a turkey is what the reformed Ebeneezer Scrooge sends anonymously to the Cratchit family in A Christmas Carol.) And perhaps, if you have a house full of guests for the entire Christmas week, you’ll be making more than one significant meal in the oven.

Whatever you’re cooking, I have a great way to enjoy the leftovers, by making what I love to call leftover hash. Truly this is one of my non-recipe recipes that merely has guidelines and suggestions rather than a specific ingredient list. I’ve made this with pretty much every meat, including poultry, and sometimes, when we have steak and a baked potato for dinner, I will purposely save part of the baked potato and a few slices of steak and make hash from that for my lunch the next day. The only thing that I think is absolutely necessary is onion, salt, pepper, and paprika.

Like so many comfort dishes, this comes from poverty cooking, when people would not waste anything and find ways to stretch whatever they had. Oftentimes has was not a meal of leftovers, but rather a way to use a small amount of protein and supplement it with a lot of additional ingredients. Most traditional, of course, is corned beef hash with potatoes, but these days you’ll find myriad iterations with all sorts of vegetables added in, and even vegan versions with no meat at all.

Most often hash is served with an egg or two, usually poached, but I prefer the added flavor of a fried egg. If you have a whole crew in the house, you can make a big pan of hash and add an egg or two to each person’s plate. But when I make this as a treat just for me, I do it like in the picture (a version that includes turkey, squash, turnip, and Brussels sprouts), with a fried egg in the middle and the hash all around.

LEFTOVER HASH

Per serving, multiply as desired

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons vegetable or other neutral oil, plus more as needed
½ small onion, sliced into half-moons
Generous pinch kosher salt
Few grinds fresh pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika
½-¾ cup leftover meat, chopped into ½-inch pieces*
½-¾ cup leftover potatoes and/or vegetables, chopped into ½-inch pieces**
Eggs to serve, if desired

* This can be from any sort of roast – beef, pork, turkey, etc. – or even just a few leftover slices of steak.

** Potatoes are most traditional, and sometimes I will save part of a baked potato for this, but you can also use roasted or boiled potatoes, or even sweet potatoes. For vegetables, I’ve sometimes included turnips, winter squash, and/or Brussels sprouts.

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. The size of the pan will depend on how many servings you are making. If you are planning to fry an egg or two in the same pan, use a non-stick pan with a cover. Add the onion, salt, pepper, and paprika, and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion pieces are soft and translucent. Add the meat and the potatoes and/or vegetables, and continue to sauté until warmed through, adding a bit more oil if needed. This will depend on how the meat and vegetables were cooked and how dry they are, and how much of a crust you want on the bottom. If you want it to get crispy, press the hash down in the pan, scraping and turning occasionally with a spatula, and be patient.

The hash itself is ready to eat at this point. If you are making a large amount for a crowd, cook up some eggs separately, whatever style people want, and serve with the hash and toast, offering ketchup and hot sauce as condiments.

Personally, I prefer a fried egg with hash (contrary to the more traditional poached egg.) When I make this just for myself, I push the hash to the edge of the pan creating a doughnut shape and make a fried egg in the middle. Add a touch of extra oil or butter as needed to make sure the egg doesn’t stick, even in a non-stick pan. Crack an egg into a measuring cup with a spout and pour into the middle of the hash. Bring the hash in a bit so that some of it will be held together by the egg white. Cover and cook the egg to your preference. Serve with toast and condiments as above.

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