Potato Hash - A Recipe

Feeding yourself on a budget can be a chore at times so I resorted to going back to my Lancashire roots and looked up recipes for Potato Hash.  There's loads of them but the vast majority are long drawn out affairs and require some expensive ingredients.  Here's my recipe, it serves one or 2 if you're having something else with it.

What You Need:
Cookpot of some sort, I use an old pyrex casserole dish, just so long as it's safe on the stove.  It needs to have a lid, it helps it cook better. 5 medium sized Potatoes, some recommend King Edwards but I just get any large multi-use spud from the market.  One medium sized carrot, again just your bogstandard carrot, nout fancy.  Some corned beef, check your supermarket for offers, it's not the cheapest meat but sometimes you can get lucky.  You can also use any other pre cooked meat if you prefer.  1 Stockcube or some gravy granules. Not Required but add flavour: Mixed herbs, I bought a tub of these from the local market for about £1.00 a year ago, still not run out.  Salt, add to taste or don't even bother it's not hugely important I find. 

Remember to wash your veg before hand, I don't tend to bother but it's worth doing for health reasons (dirt never did anyone harm though).

Peel your potatoes, cut them up into around half inch cubes, doesn't need to be exact, and whack them into the cookpot.  Peel your carrot and slice it into thin pieces, around 2-3mm.  Try and keep the size uniformed as much as possible as it helps them cook all at the same time.  Whack them into the cookpot too.  Grab your corned beef and cut around 100g off it, dice it into cubes - don't worry about being exact it falls apart anyway, this just lets it cook better.  Whack that into your cookpot too, then if you're using them sprinkle around a thumb and finger full of mixed herbs over the top of the mix.  Same with the salt.  Now we add the water, fill it up to just above the contents, so long as the veg and meat are almost drowning.  Add your stockcube, I use a beef one or you can use whatever you like.  You can also use gravy mix, just sprinkle it over the top, use around a level table spoon so it's not too strong.  This gives it colouring but it does give it a nice flavour too, plus you can dunk your bread in the gravy!

Place your pot over a low heat, do not cook it fast.  If you're using a glass pyrex pot a high heat will result in the veg and meat sticking to the bottom, and then burning.  Keep the flame low.  Cover the pot with its lid be prepared to wait an hour.  Make sure you stir the mix occasionally, it helps cook everything evenly and prevents things sticking.  I use a wooden spoon for this, but you can use a normal spoon or whatever you have available.  To be sure it's cooked taste a cube of potato and a carrot slice, if they're both soft it's ready.  Serve and enjoy; it's perfect for cold weather.

How much does this cost?

Potatoes can vary.  I picked up 10 potatoes at my supermarket for 30p, and 10 carrots for the same price but the prices do fluctuate.  A large bag of normal spuds from a supermarket will be around £1 and that will last you a couple of weeks.  Carrots can be a lot cheaper and last even longer.  Corned Beef isn't cheap, but again look for deals at your supermarket or check with your butcher - I got a 340g can for 99p and it will last me a week if I have a hash every 3 days which I don't.  Some people used cooked bacon or chicken in their hash, some even use that quorn so check around!  Herbs are cheap as heck and salt, well that's 30p for a 500g tub.  This meal will cost you around 40p to make, even if you count the gas/electricity used.

Hope that's an easier recipe, not much faffing about.  Peel, chop, dunk, boil, eat.  Sorted!