Corned Beef Hash

Now that the rain has stopped and the sun is bright, I am back outside working on my house and garden.  Yesterday I took care of a huge branch that fell off my crabapple tree and cleared dead wood from my Dogwood.  And put the second coat of paint on my foundation so I can now order in soil to top up my beds.  Then I will be ready for planting! 

So I have not been cooking very much.  I have never made corned beef hash.  This is inspired by a recipe from Epicurious.com   I use that website a lot. 

I made this with my big ol' cast iron pan.  But wouldn't it be fun, if you had a set of small cast iron pans, to serve it directly to the table with each person having their own pan!  The food would stay hot for a long time.  Everybody would get lots of nice crispy pieces.

Corned Beef Hash                       serves one

• 1 baking (russet) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1/2 cup cooked corned beef, cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 large egg (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water to cover until just tender, about 3 minutes, then drain. Coarsely chop corned beef.

Sauté onion and bell pepper in butter in a small nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in corned beef and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add cream and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

If desired, make a hole in hash and break 1 egg into it. Cook over moderately low heat, covered, 5 minutes, or until egg is cooked to desired doneness, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish hash with parsley.