What do you do with that leftover corned beef?

OK, I'm running a bit late on this one since St. Patrick's Day and that corned beef dinner was a week ago. But, you can make this with a hunk of cooked corned beef from the deli and it's just as good. This also gives me the chance to say what a great thing hash is - one of the best ways to clean out odds and ends in your fridge (soup is another great depository for them).

Traditionally, corned beef hash is made with white potatoes. Very fitting, seeing as the white potato nourished millions of Irish until the potato famine came along. We really love sweet potatoes in this house and I thought the sweeter flavor would be a nice counterpoint to the salty corned beef. And a recipe was born.

Hash is one of recipes that you can make up on the fly with whatever bits and pieces you have in your fridge. Leftover chicken, leftover potatoes, leftover veggies - together they make hash. I know my friend Deb is nodding her head while she reads this.

Sweet Potato Corned Beef Hash
(serves 4-6)



2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" dice
1 1/2 tablespoon oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 pound cooked corned beef, trimmed of fat and cut into 1" dice
3 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper
fried eggs (optional)

Cook sweet potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry onion and green pepper until onion starts to brown on the edges. Add corned beef and heat through. Add sweet potatoes and green onions. Season with salt and pepper and mix. Cook just until the hash starts to stick to the pan. Serve with fried eggs, if desired.

An alternate hash is to cook the sweet potatoes until they are mashable, another 5 minutes. Use a bit more oil in the onion frying. When you add the sweet potatoes to the skillet, mash them a fork or the back of a spoon and cook until they get brown and crunchy. The potatoes will stick to the bottom of the pan at the beginning, but once they brown, they will release. Don't try to mix them in between. You could use a non-stick skillet, in which case they wouldn't stick at all.