One of the best meals I ever had was at a tiny, tapas style restaurant in Vancouver.  I was heart broken when I returned and discovered it was closed.  Among other things, I had a duck and green bean hash.  It was sublime.

This year I planted green beans in my garden and they have been productive.  Because I hate eating the same thing over and over, I have tried to find new ways to use them.  Looking at the pile in my fridge, I remembered the duck and green bean hash and decided to recreate it.  Alas, I wasn’t able to find duck.

Hash is a dish made of meat, potatoes, and onions (plus other vegetables), chopped and fried.  Typically, leftovers are used. This dish was made for me.  It offers so many possible variations.  Since I couldn’t get duck, I took some pulled pork out of the freezer and set about making a hash.

I’m going to use pulled pork, shallots, potatoes, green beans and a little rosemary from my garden I also plan to serve an egg on top of the hash.  I keep bacon fat in my fridge and since I’m using pulled pork as the meat, I use bacon fat instead if butter or oil. I chop everything small so that I don’t need to par boil them. Since leftovers are typically used, the items are usually pre-cooked.  Using mostly fresh ingredients just means that my hash will take a little longer.

I start by sautéing the shallots, then I add the potatoes.  When they are about half cooked, I add the green beans.  Lastly, I add the pulled pork and rosemary along with a little chicken stock.  The chicken stock helps to make a nice glaze on the vegetables.

While that cooks, let’s talk about hash variations.  Growing up, my mom used to make something she called Red Flannel Hash. She would use bacon, leftover pork, potatoes, onion, and leftover beets.  I have since learned that red flannel hash actually means corned beef hash with beets added, but I loved her version.  It was the only way I liked beets.  These days, I roast my beets and love them.  If there are any leftover, I use them in a Faux Flannel Hash, my name for Mom’s version.

A third type of hash I love, isn’t called hash at all.  I consider the British dish Bubble and Squeak to be a hash.  Purists will disagree, because traditional Bubble and Squeak calls for mashed potatoes.  I don’t care.  If I have mashed potatoes and cabbage, I make it that way.  If I don’t, I’ll just use uncooked, unmashed potatoes along with cabbage and whatever other leftover vegetables I have on hand.

I have frequently made hash using whatever vegetables I have available.  Personally, I love a little celery in a hash.  If I had any, I would have added it to the pulled pork hash.  Carrots, brussel sprouts and bell peppers also work well.  Next time you have leftover vegetables, or just small amounts of vegetables, consider trying a hash.  Here’s how mine turned out.