Top o’ the morning to you: A hearty Irish breakfast

“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time, a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.” -Adrienne Cook.

The end of this blustery winter is near. Only a few more weeks until April is supposed to shower us with rain; bringing us rainbows, the budding of flowers and warmer weather.

What better way to celebrate the end of what felt like an eternal winter than with the sounds of bagpipes, stout beer and the meal of all meals, corned beef and cabbage?

If for some silly reason you have not had the chance to ever have a meal consisting of boiled cabbage, potatoes and carrots along with the brined salted meat of a perfectly cooked brisket, please take the effortless time of preparing yourself this fantastic meal. I know you’re thinking this is lame. Who in their right mind wants to eat a plate full of boiled stuff, let alone vegetables!

Don’t start telling me your only excuse for never having corned beef and cabbage is because you’re not Irish (let’s think about who’s really lame here)? It’s simple, no excuses.

Take your three pound corned beef along with the little seasoning packet it comes with — or if you are the true Irishman and have spent countless days brining your precious brisket, that works too — and put it in the pressure cooker, cover with water and cook for an hour. Then throw in some cabbage wedges, yellow potatoes and carrots, cook for another five minutes and you’ve got yourself a meal. I like to throw some parsnips in mine and when it’s time to dig in, smother everything in some delicious horseradish cream sauce.

If you are feeling fancy, feel free to switch it up and sauté your parsnips and carrots separately, until they are soft and golden brown. Be sure to throw in some couple whole cloves and a few peppercorns, incorporating that corned beef flavor. Cooking the carrots and parsnips alone can give your dish some added texture and switch up the savory flavors throughout your meal.

Eating this meal can send you on an Irish rampage. Going bottoms up isn’t unusual, neither is partying hard with a bunch of bagpipers, dousing yourself in green paint, talking to leprechauns and spending all night looking for that darn pot of gold, doing it all in true Irishman fashion of course. After a night out on the town, there’s nothing better than the perfect Irish breakfast.

First things first, of course: that cup of Irish coffee. Don’t be shy, either; you have a hangover to cure, remember? Now that you can see more clearly, grab your corned beef and cabbage leftovers. It’s time to make the hash.

Simple, quick, easy and, of course, delicious. I served up mine with two Browder’s eggs, sunny side up and a toasted piece of Irish Soda Bread. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hung-over, although I kind of wish I was.

Corned Beef Hash
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion or half of large onion, diced
Leftover Corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and parsnips
Pinch or Oregano
Pinch of Thyme
Salt & pepper to taste

• Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a medium sized skillet heated to medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. While the onion cooks, chop up the leftover corned beef and vegetables into a small rough dice.
• Add minced garlic to the skillet, stir and let cook for 1 minute. Add the pinch of oregano and thyme, stir. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
• After butter has melted add the corned beef and vegetables. Spread out evenly in pan. Turn heat up to medium high. Do not stir. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes or until it starts to golden brown.
• Using a spatula, flip over sections of the hash. Spread out evenly in the pan. If needed add more butter. Allow to cook for another 3 minutes. Repeat again if desired. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig was born and raised in Riverhead, where she lives with her husband Tahir.

Kayleigh has been in the culinary industry for the last 12 years, working in kitchens on the East End. She also is a personal chef.

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Look for In the Kitchen with Kayleigh every Saturday on RiverheadLOCAL.com.