Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

When I was in University, I tore this recipe from Cosmopolitan magazine (circa late 1990). It was filed, by the magazine, under man-pleasing brunch. With no man to please and no knowledge of what roast beef was, my trials had always been rather disappointing.

Until this Sunday. We had a chunk of beef left over from our barbecue and I thought with a few potatoes, the meat would be great served as hash for a terribly unhealthy, morning-after brunch. 

Hash can be made from a can of corned beef or left over roast beef. It’s normally grounded together with potatoes and carrot into a paste. The recipe I found uses cubes of potatoes and beef which, I agree, provide a better texture and bites. It’s also easier to make.

If you have a good chunk of meat, there is no need for further seasoning but salt and pepper. I omitted the suggested Worcestershire sauce and the dish became one of those great but simple and rustic dishes.

Please note that this is a calorie-laden, artery-clogging dish and therefore, not for everyone. The great flavours come from the fat and fried onion. So do yourself a favour and don’t use oil-spray or lean beef. Your tongue (and man) will thank you.

Ingredients:

200 g of beef, preferably roasted to medium-rare, cut into cubes
2 potatoes, cut into cubes
2 eggs
1 large onion, diced
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil for frying

Directions:

If you decide to roast the beef, place the beef in a preheated oven and grill (top fire only) at 250 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Turn over and grill the other side for 10 minutes. Cut into cubes, take care not to spill the juice, and set aside.

Par-boil the cubed potatoes, or microwave them high for 2 minutes. Heat a generous amount of oil and mix the onion in. When it sizzles, dump in the potatoes and fry in high heat until golden brown (about 10 minutes?). Then, pour in the beef cubes, juice and all.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir a few times until all sides of the beef cubes are sealed. Do not over cook.

Pour the mixture and the thick, delicious pan juice on to warmed plates. In the same pan, crack two egg and make two sunny-side up. Place them onto the hash.

Serve hot with a slice of farmer’s bread.

PS: While it’s definitely a personal preference, I prefer to mash the yolk into my hash on the plate and thicken the pan juice further. The bread is there to mop the mess.