Left: THE CLASSIC | Red flannel hash, a New England dish of beets, corned beef and more; Right: THE COMER | Smoked haddock spaetzle, a creamy Alpine variation on the theme. Justin Walker for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Jamie Kimm, Prop Styling by DSM (2)

SOME BEGIN THE day with a shower and shave, others with sun salutations. I prefer to meditate over a cutting board and a hot skillet. Whisking eggs, slicing onions, buttering toast—there's an optimistic rhythm to the rites of breakfast.

Those rites are what this column is all about. Each time, we'll pair a classic from the breakfast canon with a new twist inspired by a creative chef or cookbook. The result, I hope, will be a collection of recipes that are simple and enticing enough to make a morning person out of anyone.

I can think of no better starting point than the all-American red flannel hash. Hearty yet humble, it awakens the appetite but does not ask too much of the cook. (Who wants theatrics before coffee?) Traditionally assembled from the leftovers of that iconic New England meat-and-potatoes-feast known as "boiled dinner," it is utilitarian and forgiving.

The rugged beets that lend the dish its color and its colorful name; the soft scraps of carrot and parsnip; the waxy potatoes, their freckled skin still clinging; the ruddy corned beef: Apart, they're anything but sexy. But dice and season and scatter them in a searingly hot pan. Watch their edges crisp and blush as the beets bleed. Slide it all onto a plate and crown the lot with a fried egg, as bright and cheerful as a buttercup. You'll fall, and hard.

Indeed, that was as fine a start to the day as I could imagine—until a few weeks ago, when I sat down for breakfast at Prime Meats, a Brooklyn restaurant specializing in hearty Alpine dishes. Prime Meats does a lot of things very, very well, but one of the things it truly excels at is spaetzle, so I was intrigued when I spied on the menu a hash that combined those tiny wheat-flour dumplings with gently smoked haddock and sweet beets. As it happens, historically, cod or haddock often played the part in boiled dinners that corned beef does today. It got me thinking: They'd swapped the starches, but this was basically red flannel hash in lederhosen.

Yet that description doesn't quite do it justice. Tender, creamy and finished with a tasteful flurry of poppy seeds, the dish in front of me was more like a charming and coddled European paramour arrived to vie with the square-jawed, calloused-handed Yankee hash for my affections. I won't lie: I enjoyed the fling.

Red Flannel Hash

Total Time: 1 hour Serves: 4-6

2 small beets

2 small-medium carrots

1 parsnip

4 boiling potatoes

1 yellow onion, peeled

4 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons butter or bacon grease, plus extra for hash crust

1 cup cooked corned beef, cut into ½-inch dice

Salt and pepper, to taste

4-6 eggs, optional

What To Do

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap beets in foil and roast until tender, 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove foil and rub off skins. Dice beets and set aside.

2. Place carrots, parsnip, potatoes and onion in a large pot. Add stock and enough water to cover vegetables by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain off stock. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop onions and cut remaining vegetables into a ½- to 1-inch dice. Set aside.

3. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. (Avoid using a nonstick skillet, as it will prevent hash from forming a crunchy crust.) Add 2 tablespoons butter. Once pan is hot, add corned beef and all vegetables. Stir gently to combine. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4. Cook hash, stirring once or twice, until a brown crust begins to form on the bottom (though take care to avoid burning), 5-6 minutes. Toss to flip ingredients. If skillet seems dry, add a bit more butter. Cook until bottom is crusty, another 5-6 minutes. Stir and remove from heat. Season with more salt and pepper if desired. Serve topped with a poached or sunny-side-up egg per serving, if you like.

Smoked Haddock Spaetzle

Total Time: 1 hour Serves: 4-6

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup smoked haddock or trout

3 shallots, minced

Black pepper, to taste

½ teaspoon poppy seeds

1 roasted beet, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 tablespoon minced chives

What To Do

1. Fill a pot with salted water and bring to a boil. In a bowl, combine flour, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in center of flour, add eggs and mix. Drizzle in milk, stirring well, until mixture is glossy and a little thicker than pancake batter.

2. Place a spaetzle press or colander with holes at least ¼-inch wide over pot of boiling water. Working in ½-cup batches, use a rubber spatula to press batter through holes and into water. When spaetzle float, they are done. With a slotted spoon, transfer cooked spaetzle to a large bowl, and repeat with remaining batter. Toss spaetzle with 1 tablespoon butter, cover and refrigerate. (Spaetzle will keep one day.)

3. In a small saucepan combine cream, ¼ cup haddock and shallots over low heat. Warm cream but do not let it boil. Turn off flame and let cream mixture steep until it takes on a smoky flavor, 30 minutes. Strain out fish and shallots and set aside.

4. Place a wide pan over low heat. Add cream, remaining butter and pepper to taste. When cream begins to simmer, add 4 cups spaetzle. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until cream reduces, 8-10 minutes. Add reserved haddock and shallots, remaining haddock, poppy seeds and beets. Simmer until thick and creamy, 3-5 minutes more. Garnish with chives.

—Adapted from chef Antonio Mora, Prime Meats