Mike’s Hot Spicy Food Recipes

Chorizo Hash

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 pound chorizo (or for less spice, 1/4 pound chorizo and 1/4 pound sausage)
• 3 cups potato, diced small
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 1/2 bell pepper (red, green or yellow), diced small
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large saute pan on medium-high heat. When hot, spray with cooking oil and add chorizo. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add potatoes, onion, pepper and oregano. Cook until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Corned-Beef Hash

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced into small pieces
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup cooked corned beef, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup cooked cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup Yukon gold potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 to 4 over-easy eggs for topping (optional)

In large saute pan, melt butter. Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Saute briefly, and add corned beef, cabbage and potato cubes. Heat through, mixing frequently to combine.

Season with salt and pepper, and top with over-easy eggs, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Sweet-Potato Bacon Hash

• 1/2 cup small bacon pieces
• 1/2 cup red onion
• 2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced small
• 1 cup Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced small
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup small pieces of smoked ham
• 1 tablespoon sage chiffonade
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large saute pan on medium-high heat. Add bacon pieces and cook until slightly crispy. Remove bacon and set aside. Leave bacon fat in pan. Add onion and sweet potato and cook until potatoes are tender, stirring frequently, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, including cooked bacon pieces, and heat thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings.

Turn leftovers into yummy hash

The he-man brisket that the Irish call corned beef is king on St. Patrick's Day.

The next morning, however, hash shoves it off the throne.

Whether topped with a sunny-side-up egg for breakfast or served with a salad for dinner, hash showcases the enduring chemistry between meat and potatoes jumbled together in a hot skillet.

"It's one of those basic, no-frill dishes that is making a comeback because it just hits the spot," said Bernie Kantak, chef at Citizen Public House in Scottsdale.

Purists define hash as a stick-to-your-ribs combination of beef, potatoes and onions. Yet, innovative chefs today tinker with the basic formula for hash - starch and protein - by substituting salmon, chorizo, chicken, pork and lobster for the beef, and sweet, red, blue and Yukon gold potatoes for the traditional Idaho spud.

The recent uptick in popularity of this working-class dish, whether basic or gussied up, can be traced to the stumbling economy and rising food prices. Hash stretches leftover meats that might otherwise be tossed out. It's also a dish that relies more on inexpensive spuds than the pricy proteins.

"A little meat goes a long way in hash," Kantak said.

Food historians struggle to pinpoint where hash originated, and variations can be traced to the four corners of the world. The mid-17th-century English, however, are given credit for anointing the dish "hash," a word that meant odds-and-ends.

Today's most famous hash is still corned beef. Developed in New England as a second act for the endless boiled dinners of beef, cabbage and potatoes, it's typically served for breakfast topped with a fried egg.

By the 19th century, restaurants called "hash houses" had made corned-beef hash a staple.

Done right, hash defies its humble beginnings. Kantak offers the following advice:

- Balance the potatoes and meat so that neither overwhelms the other. Too many potatoes lead to mushy hash.

- Overcooking the potatoes also leads to goopy hash. Potatoes should be al dente, or even a little crunchy. Any potato works as long as it is not overcooked.

- Also, dice all the ingredients in uniformly sized pieces so they cook evenly.

- Saute in a skillet large enough to stir frequently without ingredients falling out of the pan. Heavy-bottomed pans work best.

- Hash typically is made from leftovers, but if making fresh, cook the meat completely before turning it into hash.

- For a crispy hash, press down with a spatula so that the edges of the meat, potatoes and onions char slightly.

- Be creative. The days of plain-Jane hash are over. Add flavor and color with fresh herbs, spices and vegetables. For a St. Patrick's Day hash, for example, Kantak tosses in cabbage for a touch of green.

- Make hash a vegetarian dish by using sturdy or meaty-tasting vegetables, such as zucchini and mushrooms, instead of beef, pork, chicken or fish.

Details: Citizen Public House, 7111 E. Fifth Ave., Scottsdale. 480-398-4208, citizenpublichouse.com.

Reach the reporter at karen.fernau@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4779.