Easy Weeknight All-Purpose Hash Recipe
This Versatile Recipe Converts a Variety of Leftovers Into Supper
Sep 14, 2009
For too long, hash has been primarily considered as a breakfast recipe. Corned beef hash with an egg on top can be found on almost any brunch menu. But a basic hash recipe is something every family cook should have in his/her repertoire. Hash is more than the sum of its parts--basic leftovers combine with short preparation and cooking times to produce a satisfying and filling supper.
The dictionary's two definitions of hash (as related to food) encompass all anyone needs to know to realize the flexible, adaptable virtues of hash: 1) "a dish of cooked meat cut into small pieces and recooked, usually with potatoes"; and 2) "a finely chopped mixture." And even the latter definition is adjustable -- hash ingredients can easily be diced into bite-sized pieces without losing any flavor.
Versatile Hash Uses Leftover Ingredients:
- Hash can be made with any variety of leftover meats. The two photos attached to this article show the same basic recipe, but the first uses leftover beef and the second uses leftover sausage. Pork, chicken, and turkey work equally as well. For vegetarians, even tofu can be used.
- Besides meat, potatoes and onions are the only truly necessary ingredients needed to make hash. Leftover potatoes, whether boiled, roasted, or grilled work perfectly well. If cooked potatoes aren't conveniently at hand, just dice any potatoes (Yukon Gold and Idaho potatoes work especially well), toss with olive oil and salt, and roast in a 450 degree oven for fifteen minutes until brown. The diced potatoes roast completely while the cook is dicing the rest of the ingredients.
- For an especially attractive and tasty dish, bell peppers round out a perfect hash. Many stores carry packages of pre-sliced green, red, and yellow peppers that are fast to dice and add especially attractive color.
- Besides salt and pepper, seasonings are flexible. A conventional seasoning is hot sauce; however, if the family doesn't like heat, there are a variety of other flavoring options including tomato paste, cream, worcestershire sauce, or soy sauce.
Basic Leftover Hash Recipe
With a side salad, this recipe serves four; without a salad this is all-in-one-skillet dish will serve two. All the ingredients should be diced into the same size -- but the choice of small (1/4 inch) or bite-sized (1/2 inch) dice is at the cook's option. Add more or less salt and pepper depending on whether the leftover meat was originally cooked with or without seasoning.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 pound bell peppers, any combination of colors, diced
- 1/2 pound cooked potatoes, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (see note above)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper (see note above)
- 8 ounces cooked meat (beef, sausage, pork, poultry) diced
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional), such as green Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet until shimmering.
- Add the onion and peppers and saute until the vegetables are soft and browned at the edges, stirring occasionally (about 7 minutes).
- Add the potatoes and meat to the onion and peppers and heat until warmed through, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes).
- Toss with salt, pepper, and pepper sauce (or other seasoning as described above).
- Turn into a serving dish and serve while hot.
The Perfect Leftover Dish
Whether looking for a leftover beef, leftover pork, leftover chicken dish, or to use up leftover potatoes, remember hash as a versatile dish that can be easily adjusted to satisfy a family's preferences.
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