Corned Beef Hash with Fried Eggs

Rinse the corned beef brisket under cold water and place in a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Rinse the leeks well, trim and cut into rings. Peel the carrots and slice. Peel the celery root and dice. Peel and halve the onion crosswise and stud each half with a bay leaf and 2 cloves. Place the vegetables in the pan with r the meat and cold water to cover, season with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook over low heat for 2 hours, skimming the foam as it rises to the surface.

Peel the beets and place in a pot with salt water to cover, the sugar, vinegar and the remaining bay leaves, cover and cook over medium heat until the beets are tender,  45-60 minutes. (Timing will vary depending on the size of the beets.) Let cool and peel.

Remove the meat from the cooking liquid, reserve the liquid and let the corned beef cool.

In the meantime, rinse the potatoes and cook in a pot of boiling salted water until knife-tender, about 30 minutes.

Dice the brisket and the beets and grind on the fine disk of a meat grinder along with the cornichon.

Peel the shallot and cut into small cubes. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet and saute the shallots until soft. Add the shallots to the meat mixture. Place the meat mixture into a skillet, add some of the meat cooking liquid and simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes. Drain and peel the potatoes, squeeze through a potato ricer and stir into the meat mixture. Season with salt, pepper and some of the pickle juice.

Heat the remaining clarified butter in a nonstick pan and fry the eggs. Season lightly with salt and pepper.