http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Spinach-Beef-and-Egg-Hash%5b/quote" rel="nofollow - http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Spinach-Beef-and-Egg-Hash[/quote ]

This artcle was from 2002, so the dish is at least 74 years old at the time of this posting, and I would assume that it could be much older than that. In the comments section, one person wrote this note:

I am 69 years old, grew up in Berkeley, California. I remember my dad making "Joe's Special" for us kids when we were 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds. So, it has been around longer than the 59 years mentioned in the article. I was told that Joe's Special was a dish invented by newly-rich miners from the gold fields in the 1850's.

I'm not sure if the dish goes back to the California Gold Rush, but it is certainly possible.

As usual, Saveur "cheffed it up" just a bit; here's their recipe:

[quote]To serve 2:

1.5 pounds fresh spinach (to yield 3⁄4 lb.)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1⁄2 pound ground chuck
3 eggs, beaten
Grated parmigiano-reggiano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Trim spinach, wash in several changes of water, then blanch in a pot of boiling salted water over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Squeeze out excess water; roughly chop.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes; add ground chuck and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until brown, about 3 minutes.

Add spinach, cook for 2 minutes; add eggs and cook, without stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, stir, and season to taste with grated parmigiano-reggiano, salt, and pepper.