Tangled Branches: Satiated
riveting tales of how we sustain ourselves
Friday, September 10, 2004
Never-to-be-Repeated Hash
Hash is a dish to use up leftovers, right? So the hash I made for dinner last night is never to be repeated because I will very likely never have that combination of leftovers again.
It started with leftover fajitas. I marinated a skirt steak in beer and some seasonings for a few days, and then we still weren't getting around to grilling it so I stuck it in the freezer - marinade and all. It stayed there for a month or so, but finally we grilled it and ate it with tortillas and salsa. I thought the seasonings were not quite right, especially the beer. So the leftovers sat in the fridge for a week.
Monday, we grilled a rib-eye steak with no accompaniment other than some potatoes and onions in foil, and some sauteed mushrooms. So there were leftover sauteed mushrooms.
Some time ago, I bought a can of Vietnamese beef broth, thinking I was going to make pho. The inspiration never struck.
And the pantry also yielded a can of Hatch green chiles that I bought about a year ago and never used. Don't know why.
And a few days ago I noticed a recipe for a southwestern-style hash in the Border Cookbook, on the page facing my tamale hash inspiration. And for additional inspiration, I reread John Thorne's "Fix Your Hash" from Serious Pig.
Here we go. I chopped up the remainder of a leftover onion that was in the fridge (about 2/3 of a medium yellow onion). I cubed (a little bigger than 1/4 inch) 3 potatoes. I cut the leftover fajitas in pieces about the same size as the potatoes. And cut the chiles into pieces a little bigger than the potatoes and meat. Sauteed the potatoes and onions (w/ salt & pepper) in some olive oil and a bit of butter for, oh, five minutes. Added the meat, chiles, and leftover mushrooms. Poured in enough of the beef broth to almost cover the ingredients already in the pan. Put the lid on the pan and left it to simmer (well, boil because I was in a hurry - if I had more time it would have been simmer). Stirred a couple of times, replacing the lid each time. When the potatoes seemed to be just about cooked, took the lid off the pan and added about a teaspoon and a half of ordinary yellow Plochman's mustard (shhhh....don't tell DH; he doesn't read this and he will never know), and about a tablespoon of Chile Man's Robert's Revenge Salsa. Let this all cook down, giving a stir every now and then. When most of the liquid was evaporated, turned up the heat a bit and let the mixture brown, turning it over a few times to keep it from burning.
That's it. We liked it, but it will never be the same again.
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