Dinner tonight! Diner-style roast beef hash

When you’re looking for a dinner idea with a little more substance but still want to put food on the table fast, you can’t go wrong with hash. It’s one-pan comfort food -- simple and no fuss. For this recipe, take that leftover roast beef in the fridge and cook it up with some cubed potatoes, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno for a little heat. You can find the recipe below.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

ALSO:

Mac ‘n’ cheese recipes galore!

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest. Email Noelle at [email protected].

Diner-style roast beef hash

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 6

1 1/4 pounds cooked roast beef, sliced into chunks

1 pound baking potatoes (about 2 large), cubed

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded

2 teaspoons crushed red chile flakes

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1. Working in batches, combine equal portions of beef, potatoes, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly until the mixture is reduced to a coarse crumb. (This can also be done with a meat grinder.) Repeat until all ingredients have been chopped. Place the finished mixture in a large bowl. Sprinkle with chile flakes, oregano and soy sauce, and stir the mixture gently to combine.

2. Prepare the hash in batches: Drizzle olive oil into a large cast-iron pan until it just coats the surface of the pan, then heat the pan over medium heat. Spoon a batch of hash into the pan and spread it out to a thickness of one-half to three-quarters of an inch, covering the bottom of the skillet. Cook hash, stirring very little, until the bottom has crisped and browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Scrape the crusty bits from the bottom and turn the mixture to allow other parts to brown. Taste and season as desired with salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes, until there are plenty of crispy bits, then turn again. Remove hash from skillet, and begin another batch.

3. Repeat until all the hash has been cooked. (You may keep the finished batches warm on a platter placed in a 300-degree oven as you work.) Serve alone with Tabasco or ketchup or garnished with a fried egg.

Each serving: 264 calories; 34 grams protein; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 7 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 63 mg. cholesterol; 1 gram sugar; 359 mg. sodium.