Bachelor Recipe: Corned Beef Versatilis

About a month ago, I got an email from an old friend about some dip I had made while in Clearwater, Florida, and so I got the ingredients together when I got back to Trinidad - and last night I made the best bachelor recipe ever - simple, fast and hot. It can be a dip, it can be a part of a sandwich, and it can be mixed with mashed potatoes or hash to create a bastardized Shepherd's Pie.

The history of this involves two bachelors in a kitchen - my father and I - scrounging what we could find in the kitchen on the weekend that the wicked stepmother left (Yay!). Times were tight, and the cupboards were not well stocked. Even so, we came up with this concoction.

Before you start, you will need the following:

• Clean saucepan, preferably iron.
• Clean fork.
• Clean plate
• Oil, preferably extra virgin olive oil so that something in the meal is considered healthy.
• A can of corned beef, a can of red kidney beans.

The ingredients are simple:

• one can of Corned Beef
• one can of Red beans
• anything else you want
• Seasoning to suit.
• Cheese to suit

Preheat your saucepan (it's the wide and shallow one); if it is a manly iron pan then put some extra virgin olive oil in the pan and wipe it around with a clean paper towel. Open the cans while waiting for the oil to become hot, and drain the beans. Select the medium heat.

When the oil is hot, pry all that corned beef out of the container with the fork. Crush the corned beef so that it is all at a consistent level, and add seasoning to suit - I use pepper sauces (salsa picante) and whatever is at hand. There is no need to add salt to this.

Mix it up. You'll see the corned beef coming apart rather quickly; when this happens drop the beans in and continue mixing. If you're adding other things such as corn or stewed tomatoes or whatever else - now's the time to add them. Stir and simmer.

When the simmering is underway for about a minute, it is time for cheese if you wish to add it. Cheddar cheeses work best, though in the picture I am using a Mexican Blend. Velveeta works wonderfully in this stuff.

Turn off the stove before the cheese melts. It will melt, but this gives you time to work out how you're going to eat it. I typically toast bread and place some of it on slices - but you can also use it as a dip.

I may post some more bachelor survival tips...