Corned Beef Hash Mash (Baking)

Member Name: AliB

Product:	Baking
Date:	21/11/01 (55169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Filling, Cheap, Tasty

Disadvantages: I can't think of any right now, Will let you know if I discover any

(It doesn't have to be a cake to be in this section does it??)


This is something my Mum and Dad used to (still do) serve up to us starving kids; it's basic, it's simple, but it's also tasty and filling - and we always called it Corned Beef Hash. Now, the Corned Beef Hash that I've since found in recipe books is rather different - that corned beef hash is cubes or chunks of ingredients all fried together, then served (hence the name difference!). Read on to discover my parents' (now my) take on this recipe!!

Most importantly, Ingredients:

1 tin Corned Beef (it doesn't seem to matter which brand, they all seem to be about the same)
Enough spuds for your family/guests/self (if there are an awful lot of you, you may have to increase the number of tins of corned beef, but you can decide this later!)
Milk
Butter/Marg.
1 or 2 big onions, or lots of littlens (depends how much you like onion)
A little fat for frying them
Grated cheese (depends how much you like cheese, or how much is in your fridge!)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Any old herbs you like!


(Easy Peasy) Method:

Right, cook the potatoes as if you're doing mashed potato (which you are) - so boil or steam them, with salt if you desire.
To make life a little easier you could chop up the corned beef, but it's up to you (this makes more washing up).
Chop the onion small or large or medium, and fry it in oil or butter or lard, I prefer oil OK. You can fry them on a low heat so they just sweat and soften, or you can increase the heat and brown them off (the latter being my preferred option).
Once the potatoes are cooked, mash them like mash - add milk and butter if you normally do, don't if you don't.
Then mash in the corned beef, the heat of the potato softens it making this fairly easy. Once the big lumps are gone use a fork to sort of whisk this mixture and it makes
it really smooooth.
Now add the onions and mix them in too.

Here is where you can make this recipe your own, by adding whatever you like and whatever you think will go! I cooked this the other day and added peas and cabbage, making it into a sort of corned-beef-hash-mash-bubble-and-squeak. It wasn't very nice. I also put on really fine breadcrumbs to see what that was like, that wasn't very nice either! But some suggestions here would be to add whichever herbs you like, I tend to add mixed herbs to EVERYTHING I cook, and they go well! You could add mixed peppers, or perhaps little pieces of bacon, mmm, I'll do that next time!! And as we tend to eat this with brown sauce, worcester sauce might be nice mixed in (cos I think they taste very similar)!

Mix in whatever you've added, season to taste, then bung it into an ovenproof dish, a shallow wide/long one is a good idea.
Then sprinkle the grated cheese on top (if you haven't eaten it all while preparing, or added it to the mixture already),
Place lovingly in a preheated oven at a low heat. Cook through for however long you like, I'd recommend at least half an hour, or until the cheese has gone golden brown!

The oven bit isn't actually necessary, unless you add an ingredient that needs cooking through, but I find it crisps the top up, and makes this dish all the more scrummy.

There, I told you, basic, simple, tasty and filling!

Summary: