52 Ancestors - Week 14 - Favorite Recipe

52 Ancestors - WEEK 14 - FAVORITE RECIPE    

By Cynthia Keefer Patton

I suppose if you ask anyone, "what is your favorite recipe?", the answer will be as varied as the flowers in the fields. One of my favorite recipes was made by my mother-in-law. She was born and raised in south Mississippi and almost everything starts with a roux. Lots of things are fried, and there are a lot of onions and green peppers showing up as well.

This recipe is called "Corned Beef Hash" but it is not at all what you would expect. She always made it in a cast iron pot. You start by making roux with half and half oil and flour. The more you want, the larger the quantity of each. This recipe I use 1/2 cup of each. You have to stir your roux constantly. Let it get almost as black as the pot, or at least very, very rich brown. Use a wooden spoon to stir.

Have the onions and peppers already prepared (1 cup each chopped). Throw them in the hot roux to cook for 5 or so minutes. They might spit. Add a couple teaspoons of chopped garlic. Have 1 cup of luke warm water waiting to add and start thinning the mixture. Open two cans of corned beef and shred it with a fork on a plate. Add that to the pot and more water as needed. Last but not least, add a can of cooked sliced potatoes. If you love potatoes, add another can.

Cook until the flavors mingle. Serve over hot rice (I prefer Mahatma or jasmine rice). ALWAYS serve with a pan of buttermilk biscuits. Bake them close together in a cake pan and they will rise and be fat. Brush them on both sides with the oil in the pan and you won't need butter!

This is a hearty meal and makes for great memories. To this day, my grown son will ask me for this comfort food on a cold winter night.