Our friends over the water may know this meat as Bully Beef and I've shown you my regular autumnal meal here before, maybe a couple of times. I've also had a go at proper corned beef, brining some brisket, which turned out very well indeed.
Tonight, I'm using a slightly different method to produce a lighter ... dare I say it, summery version.
First, fire up your oven at 180C and get a baking dish warming through with your favourite paleo fat: goose fat, here, beef dripping or lard would be perfect.
Ingredients are simple and pared back to basics: potatoes, onion, garlic, corned beef and tomato.
Potatoes are not "paleo" but then neither was saturated fat only a short while ago. Some paleo eaters are coming to the idea that potatoes are not all that evil, but Cordain still holds out on this one. I've read his take on this again and again, and while I have absolutely no reason to doubt him and certainly no argument to counter him ... I eat potatoes. I seem to do well on them.
These potatoes are Jersey Royal Potatoes.
In their short season, we snap them up and eat them whenever we can. I've written a good deal about meals with Jersey Royals recently, but this is a celebration of this potato; a dish kept simple.
You can read all about Jersey Royals here: http://www.jerseyroyals.co.uk/
Sufficed to say, they're protected with PDO status, farmed on the island of Jersey in soil close to the sea fertilised with vraic; seaweed. The texture and taste is unique.
So, fat melted ... chop up some Jersey Royals and spread them around your roasting dish, scattering over some chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic, whole and skin on. Mix well and settle into the oven for 30 minutes, or so.
Meanwhile, open up a can of corned beef and cube it.
Also, shred a couple of chillies and cut a couple of tomatoes into large chunks. This will feed two.
After 30 minutes, the potatoes should be almost cooked through. Jersey Royals have a firm texture which will remain through to the served dish, but inserting a knife into the white of the potato should not feed gritty.
Scatter the corned beef over the potatoes and back into the oven to warm through for maybe 10 minutes.
Get some cabbage on, steaming. White cabbage will be perfect.
After that 10 minutes, scatter the chilli over and the diced tomatoes. Back in for a final 5 minutes.
Serve out, cabbage down, Corned Beef Hash over. Grind some freshly milled black pepper over and we're done.
For extra attention, the cabbage could be tossed through some fat. Better, leftover cabbage (say, from a Sunday Dinner) could be warmed through in a frying pan ... and ... Damn it! I forgot the fried egg. Eggs make any meal better - a fried egg over is absolute perfection.
