Irish Nacho Hash

This evening, I came home exhausted, but had an insatiable need to sink my teeth into hearty meal. I had been at work teaching my delightful sixth graders all day, and then went directly to the gym and pushed myself on the elliptical for forty five minutes. I walked in the door to an empty house with my husband still at work and then going to Jiu Jitsu practice. After showering, I realized I was out of yogurt for the morning and went back to the store. I was aggravated. I was tired. I was hungry.

After stacking my yogurts in the fridge, I looked around to see what I had. I was pleased to see half of a large Kirkland ham steak, some cubanelle peppers, and a jalapeno. I knew there were potatoes in my basked, so the first thing that came to mind was a hash. I had some scallions and onions, too. I chose the scallions because they would perish sooner. I was a little weary about the taste because I had never had scallions in hash, but it worked out just fine. 

I knew the potatoes would take the longest, so I boiled them first. Meanwhile, I chopped the other ingredients and began to heat them on the skillet. I left the heat low, for a slow meld of salty ham and spicy jalapeno heat to sink the ingredients. When the potatoes were done, I added them to the skillet, and then they had a chance to absorb the fresh flavors.

While I was heating the ingredients in the skillet, I realized that the scallions and potatoes reminded me of Irish Nachos, or nachos made on top of potatoes instead of tortilla chips. It was then that I decided to add cheese to the concoction, putting the nacho into the hash. When I put the cheese on top right after plating it, the steam from the heating process melted the cheese sufficiently. I did have an idea to add more cheese and place it under the broiler, but I was too tired for the further step.

This meal is straight up filling. I plated mine out, a little less than half, and it was too much. I had to give my husband a little off of my bowl, and then he couldn’t finish his. It was super tasty, with cheesy coated potatoes, salty ham, and peppery heat. I could eat it all over again… when I can fit it. 

When I make this again, I will add sour cream and some diced tomatoes… I dare you to try it, too. 

Ingredients
1 dozen fingerling potatoes, quartered
1 tsp. Olive Oil
8 oz ham steak, diced
2 cubanelle peppers, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
½ cup shredded cheese (or more to taste!)

Method
1. Boil the quartered potatoes in a large pot of water for twenty minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

2. Warm the olive oil in the skillet until temperature is medium low. Add the ham steak, cubanelle peppers, jalapeno, scallions, pepper, and salt and cook until the peppers are soft.

3. Add the potatoes to the skillet. Heat until flavors have united, roughly three minutes.

4. Plate the hash and immediately add the shredded cheese. Mix the cheese gently and let it melt as the steam rises. Let stand for five minutes. Then, eat it. 

Ham and Pea Tart

I do like ham, but I don't love it just by itself. I like it in small doses or mixed in other dishes. For example, I love ham and eggs, when they are not green of course. Or I will even pretend I'm a real Southerner and mix it up into grits.Therefore, after Easter, I am in a predicament. I don't  want to eat all of that ham by itself. So my husband and I came up with a new way to use some of it. We used a recipe from The Illustrated Quick Cook as inspiration and added a few of our own little touches. 

The crust on this did not come out exactly as I had wanted. I used a 9-inch spring form pan  which I normally use for thick crusted desserts. I used pre-made crust for a time saver, but this could easily use a homemade crust and be made thicker. When I molded the dough around pan, I raised it too high. I had to make it thinner so that it would go that high. In retrospect, I would make the walls thicker and shorter. I might even use both sheets of the crust to thicken it.

This dish could be served after it cools right out of the oven. However, my husband and I like it cooled and refrigerated. We stored it in the fridge overnight and served it the next day. We also liked to squirt a little Sriracha on it to "kick it up a notch," just for Emrill. 

Ingredients
1 sheet of prepared dough for an 8-9 inch pie
all-purpose flour for dusting
1/2 cup parmsean cheese, divide
2 large eggs, plus 1 extra beaten yolk for egg wash
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
2 2/1 cups diced ham
1 tsp sage
1 1/2 cup frozen peas
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Other Equipment
8-9 inch spring form pan
baking beans or pie weights
parchment paper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and press into the pan. I would make it no more than two inches in height and not like the picture below.

3. Line the dough with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden. 

4. Brush the crust with the egg yolk and sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmesean cheese in the bottom. Bake for another 3-5 minutes to crisp.

5. Set aside the crust and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Meanwhile, heat the in a large frying pan.. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until the onions become translucent. Add the ham and sage, and saute the ingredients until the ham is browned and slightly crispy. Stir in the peas and season with salt and pepper.

7. Add the ham and pea mixture to the crust.

8. Beat together the two eggs and heavy cream. Season it well. Pour the cream mixture over the ham and peas. Use a fork and press the solid ingredients down in case they rise above the liquid. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesean cheese over the top.

9. Bake the tart for 20 - 30 minutes until set and golden. I place a pan underneath the spring form in case it leaks.