Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash

Breakfast in our home is usually a pretty quick and basic affair – steel-cut oats, frozen Van’s waffles, toast with peanut butter, bagels from the corner bakery – but every once in awhile, especially in the winter, I like to pick up some yummy root vegetables from the indoor farmer’s market and make something really special. This sweet potato hash is great even without cheese, but you can add things to it like vegan parmesan, shredded Teese cheese, or some aged goat cheese if you’re able to eat it. Here’s what you need:

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet onion
• 1 large sweet potato
• 3 large carrots
• 5 small potatoes (I used blue and white for this recipe)
• chicken breakfast sausage (optional)  – 4 links if they’re small, 1 or 2 if it’s large
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp sage
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Eggs (optional)
• Vegan parmesan cheese

This recipe is designed so you prepare most of it once and then you can have leftovers for a few mornings. It’s time-consuming at first, but trust me, it’s worth it. If you want this for brunch, make sure you start it around 10ish.

Directions

First, chop the onions and cook with olive oil and salt over medium heat for 30 minutes. If your sausages are uncooked, what I like to do is cook them from frozen until they’re brown on all sides in another pan, and then cut it into chunks and put into the same pan as the onions for the last five minutes of cooking.

If you’re using a veggie substitute or something that’s already cooked, you can throw them into the onion mixture near the end if you want to. I like when things are browned before I put the whole mixture in the oven. By the end of 30 mins, your onions should be small and brown and the sausage should have a good crust on it.

While these things are cooking, cut the sweet potatoes, small potatoes, and carrots into ½ inch chunks. Throw in a bowl and toss with salt, pepper, rosemary, and sage.  Put the onions and sausage into this bowl, mix together, and then lay out on a large baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle olive oil on top.

Bake the whole shebang in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes, until the sweet potato is soft and browned. This recipe is good for about 2 large portions, if you’re having a particularly hungry day.

Now, add the eggs, if you’re adding them to your recipe. Leave the oven at 450. Put the hash in a casserole dish or ramekins and crack two eggs over it (or three if you’re stretching it to 3 portions). Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the egg is cooked through and serve with some dairy-free parmesan.

This will be one of your favorite breakfasts, I promise, but you won’t always feel like doing it. Don’t start if you’re not patient and in a good mood. However, this will put you in a fantastic mood when you’re done.

What are your favorite complicated breakfasts? Comment here, Facebook us, tell us on Twitter – keep the conversation rolling!