Cheesy Corned Beef Hash

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Gone are those days when I cross bacon, ham and salami out of a recipe. With the invention of Halal options, I too can now enjoy the ‘bacon’ flavour in my food. My favourite though is chorizo!! Can’t stand the original bacon smell (not sure why) but this halal chorizo has really changed my soup and pasta life! I was well excited bringing it out for this recipe.

While it does have a lot of moving parts, this recipe is quite simple to put together. You can prep the parts on different days, refrigerating them for when you are ready. You also don’t need a lot of seasoning for this, just fresh herbs!

Due to high salt content in corned beef and cheese, I did not salt this at all! That said, I’m very sensitive to salt. What others think is well salted is salty to me and often enough, I’m unable to eat it. So follow your ancestors here 🤪

I've used two different types of smoked cheese - Tesco Beechwood and Ilchester Applewood. I love the intense smell of Tesco's Beechwood and the richness of the Ilchester, they were perfect together for this recipe. I also added some Gouda, just because! I was going for three cheese, I had my Emmental ready but I decided against it because I felt my ingredients might not be able to handle the high salt content from the meat, cheese and chorizo. By all means, go for three cheese if you can but don't forget your vegetables.

I know traditional Corned Beef Hash is just a 3-ingredient meal but lately I've found myself feeling guilty when I cook without vegetables. I often have spinach, kale and peppers handy but I didn't use pepper for this as I had other plans for my peppers. I don't much like the stems in kale, so I often de-stem my kale. This time though, I didn't have the time to do it all. Whatever vegetables you choose, make sure it's not something with high water content, you don't want soggy hash.

To ensure this isn’t a soggy mess, I blanched the veg. Kale doesn’t have much water but spinach can do. After blanching, I pan fry a little with butter, which gives more flavour and further reduce the water content.

Without further ado, let’s make this hash!

Tips

1. Boil your yam/potatoes without salt. Corned beef has a high salt content

2. Reduce the heat when you add Chorizo, to infuse the flavour properly.

3. If your cheese gets brown before eggs are cooked to choice, cover with foil to stop the cheese browning further

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✅ 1 large onion, chopped

✅ 2 tbs coconut oil

✅ 300g yam or potatoes, diced

✅ 200g sweet potatoes, diced

✅ 60g Najma chorizo

✅ Handful fresh parsley and basil

✅ 340 tin of corned beef

✅ 200g spinach

✅ 200g kale

✅ 150g smoked cheese

✅ 50g Gouda

✅ 3 eggs (optional)

1. Boil the yam and sweet potatoes without salt and drain

2. Blanch spinach and kale and fry lightly with butter

3. Fry onion until soft. Add chorizo and fry lightly, on reduced heat, until the flavour is infused

4. Add corned beef and increase heat. Fry together until you hear some sizzling

5. Pre-heat the oven at 150°C

6. Add yam and potatoes. Mix thoroughly until it’s well combined with the corned beef

7. Use a fish slice to flatten it down a bit and add fresh herbs

8. Top with cheese and bake for 7-12mins(7 if not using eggs)

9. If adding eggs, wait until the cheese starts to melt (3mins in my oven), remove and add eggs. Bake until the eggs are cooked