Weekend recipe
Corned beef & hash cakes with homemade tomato sauce
This is a riff of that traditional British breakfast fry-up, corned beef hash – albeit somewhat ‘‘tidier’’ and with home-cooked beef instead of the tinned stuff, so you’ll need to plan ahead a bit for this breakfast.
Corned beef
❚ 1 piece corned beef, about 1kg
❚ 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
❚ 2 tablespoons brown sugar
❚ 6 whole cloves
❚ 2 star anise
❚ 6 black peppercorns
Hash cakes
❚ 6 medium potatoes
❚ 40g butter
❚ 1⁄ leek, finely
4
sliced
❚ 1 stalk celery, finely sliced
❚ 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
❚ 1 egg
❚ oil for shallow frying
Tomato sauce
❚ 400g can diced tomatoes
❚ 1 clove garlic, crushed
❚ 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
❚ 1 tablespoon brown sugar
❚ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
❚ 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce Beef: Place corned beef in a large saucepan and three-quarters cover with water. Add vinegar, sugar, and spices, bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer covered for 11⁄ hours. Remove lid, turn
2 meat over and cook a further 30 minutes uncovered. Remove from stock and let cool. Slice across the grain to serve.
Hash cakes: Peel potatoes and cut into even-sized pieces. Boil in salted water for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain and mash coarsely. Heat butter in a frying pan and saute leek and celery until softened. Add sauteed vegetables and butter to mashed potato and stir in parsley and egg. Season well with salt and pepper. Shape into about 12 cakes and fry in hot oil for about 5 minutes on each side until golden and set.
Tomato sauce: Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer 5-8 minutes until reduced and saucy. Season to taste and allow to cool.
Serve sliced beef with hot hash cakes and the tomato sauce.
Serves 6.