Corned Beef and Potato Hash with Speedy Dumplings

Corned Beef and Potato Hash with Speedy Dumplings

This is a quick, comforting, easy thing to make. The basic recipe is fine if you are really strapped for cash but there's a lot you can do to it to make it more interesting. You could add a handful of red lentils or a tin of baked beans, chopped chillies, peppers, mushrooms, peas, corn... pretty much anything you like. You can add tinned tomatoes and top up with water, or slosh in some wine if there's any leftover (yes, I know, me neither) and if you are really really poor you can use just water and chopped up cheapo frankfurter sausages. Or water and a squirt of ketchup/HP/Lea and Perrins. If you are feeding a crowd you can double or triple the amount of potatoes, onions carrots etc. and still get away with using just one tin of corned beef. I know this because that's how I fed six of us when you were little.

The dumplings are super quick and easy to make. You can add chopped fresh herbs or grated cheese if you fancy too.

So for the basic recipe for two people you will need:

6 potatoes about the size of a small fist

1 medium onion

1 large carrot

1 tin of corned beef

1 stock cube

1 level tbs of dried mixed herbs

For the dumplings you need:

100g self raising flour

50g cold butter

Large pinch of salt

You can also use the type of hard margarine which is wrapped like butter. Either way you need to stick the marg/butter in the freezer for about half an hour so that it is nice and hard. Then use the large holes on your grater to grate 50g into the flour.

Make the hash:

Peel and chop the potatoes like you did for the mash we did last week. Put them into your largest saucepan.

Peel the carrot and slice or chop into small pieces, add to the pan.

Peel the onion, cut in half and chop into smallish pieces, add to the pan.

Crumble in the stock cube and sprinkle in the dried mixed herbs.

Add enough water to almost come to the top of the vegetables.

Cover with a lid, bring the pan up to the boil and then turn the heat right down and cook until the potatoes are really soft and beginning to fall apart.

Open the tin of corned beef. This is a very dangerous thing to negotiate actually. I recommend that once you have wound the key around the base and prised up the 'lid' you scoop the corned beef out with a spoon. But be really really REALLY careful when you are doing it and keep the lid bit to the side away from you. An awful lot of people end up in A&E every year due to corned beef tin-based injuries. Just go slowly and take care.

Stir the beef into the vegetables then put the lid back on the pan and allow everything to sit and soften while you make the dumplings.

Put the flour and grated marg/butter into a bowl along with a good pinch of salt. Then use an ordinary knife to stir the fat and flour together, chopping a bit as you go until everything is evenly mixed then pour over about 90ml of cold water. Still using the knife, stir vigorously for a few seconds until you have a rough ball of dough. Gather it together with your hands and squish it about in the bowl until most of the flour has been picked up. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and plop them into a pyrex dish. Preferably one that's at least 5cm deep. Add 2 tbs of water, cover the dish with a lid or cling film. If you use cling film poke a couple of holes in the film. Microwave on HIGH for two and a half minutes.

Use the fabulous bear paw gloves to remove the dish from the microwave and carefully peel back the cling film.

Serve the dumplings alongside your potato hash and add anything else you like to go with it. It's traditional up here in t'North to have pickled red cabbage but you can add ketchup if you really really must.

If it's just you eating then the leftovers will freeze, but defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave.

And you could have the leftover dumplings in a sandwich for lunch tomorrow (family joke).

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'I will shop and cook today'

Excellent. Don't forget to photograph everything - even the bus :D

'Noo that'll make me look silly. I'll try the campus shop first and if I need to I'll catch the bus'

That sounds like a plan.

'Also I have lots of regular flour, should just try and get some baking powder?'

Yes that's fine - just add half a teaspoon to every 100g of flour and mix thoroughly. Any herbs?

'Yep'

'But no mixed ones'

Thyme?

'No thyme'

Sigh. Not to worry. You can do it without.

"Oh wait!! Hold on, there's these:

Right, perfect. Either of those will do fine.

'Is this carrot even edible?'

It should be ok if you peel it well and cut off any manky bits.

'Yaay! All peeled...'

Well that looks about right

'Like a Hell broth, boil and bubble...'

'Just about to do the corned beef but I can't turn the key!'

Ok, don't panic. Are you turning to the right way?

'Yep. Just can't get it to move'

Get a normal kitchen knife and stick it through the hole in the key. Use the knife as a lever.

'Ok that worked.'

'Yeaaaaaaaah!'

Haha! You might want to chop it up a bit...

'I already am. Do I turn the heat off or leave it to simmer?'

Turn it off. The meat is cooked just needs to warm through. It will melt into the hot stock if you chop it small enough.

'Ok how much is 100g of flour?'

Umm about five heaped tablespoons. 50g of butter is about a 2cm slice off a block. Just grate 2cm straight into the flour.

'Do I need more flour?'

Uh yes. Quite a bit more looking at that. It needs to feel like sticky bread dough. Did you melt the butter???

'No, it's just really warm in the kitchen. Ok I've added enough flour so it's like bread dough.'

Did you remember to add the baking powder?

'Oh crap. I'll mix it in now. It'll be ok won't it?'

Uhm ................

'They're the hip new half-risen dumplings'

'They taste really nice though!'

 I'd forgotten you don't have any weighing scales. Something to put on the list when you go to Asda, you can get some for about a fiver. 

'I'll re-do the dumplings and photograph everything when I serve it tomorrow'

Ok :) I'll work out a way of measuring the flour and butter without scales. And maybe get some self-raising flour?

*Mutters* Hip new half-risen dumplings...

[triumphant photograph of finished dish and delicious fluffy dumplings to go here at some point today]