WINTER is here with vengeance and let's face it, no one wants to eat salad.

It is January, the start to the New Year, when temperatures are dropping and our bank accounts are depleted after all the indulgences of Christmas.

This calls for classic comfort food and dishes to warm us up so you won't need the heating on all day, and at the same time is an economical and cheap meal to produce.

Corned beef hash is always the order of day in my household this time of year, being the best of British.

So how on earth do you work magic on a tin of corned beef? Surprisingly it’s of the hash that turns the stuff from edible to delicious.

I just love the American version -- ''or plain greedy'' -- where a fried egg is proudly perched atop the hash with a puddle of runny yolks, supplying a certain pleasingly gooey richness, and makes an excellent brunch dish by the way.

I think I've hit the nail on the head with this recipe now, and can keep its less glamorous cousin, the tin of Spam (luncheon meat), in the cupboard for another day.

A tin of corned beef always brings back many happy memories of my enjoying enjoying it in a sandwich between big wedges of homemade bread.

The meal is most definitely an acquired taste with many people turning their nose up at it, but it got our ancestors through the world wars and I think more families should give it a go today!

The branded names have improved their recipes over the years, bringing reduced salt and lean beef, so it really isn't as fattening now as most people remember.

It also contains 100 per cent beef which is high in protein. And tinned foods are fantastic for storing for when you are short of time.

The first recipe people connect with a can of corned beef is corned beef hash, and although not a adventurous dish, it can be jazzed up quite easily for a quick meal any time of the day, when all you want to do is snuggle up on the sofa with a huge steaming bowl full with good bread of cause to mop up with.

The word hash is a dish consisting of diced or chopped meat, potatoes and spices that are mixed together then cooked alone or with other ingredients such as onions.

Corned beef hash became especially popular during and after world war two as rationing limited the availability of fresh meat.

Today for most people the tin of corned beef is a traditional store-cupboard emergency food, being quick, easy and cheerful, just perfect for those nights when you get home from work and are lacking in inspiration, ingredients and ideas.

You can simply fry the potatoes with the tin of thrifty corned beef, served with the mandatory baked beans, or use my baked oven recipe below.

This is as easy as you can get, keep it warm in dishes covered with aluminium foil in a low oven, and leave the washing up soaking overnight.

Who says economy means food has to be boring or taste bad?