Sweet Potato Hash

A few days ago I read a blog post by Wok In Time that touched on the issue of ugly food. I thought it was funny and it made me think it would be nice [or fun] to have a day set aside for foodies to post all about the ugly food they LOVE…. Because ugly food deserves it’s turn in the spotlight too!

Well since such a day does not exist….or at least I’ve never heard of it…I am making that day TODAY…because I have an ugly dish I want to share with you. Now since I don’t have the props and tools to style my food properly, when I say ugly, you know you are getting the real deal. Poor ugly food, you don’t even get a fighting chance on my blog. Hopefully everyone will look past your ugly and see the potential of taste that resides within you. J

So here is my Ugly…

Sweet Potato Hash!

The most interesting thing about this dish is that even though it’s ugly….my kids eat it. It’s so weird! They will turn their nose up to anything that is slightly off their path of familiarity but for some reason, this one always gets eaten. Sure it takes a little bit to remind them that they do actually like it, but once they get past the first bite, they remember, and have no problem packing down the rest. (I think it has something to do with the bacon.)

This recipe comes from my friend Naomi and I think she actually eats this as a breakfast dish. We don’t but why not? …It’s an ugly. It has no pressure to live up to anyone’s expectations so it can do whatever it wants to. J

Sweet Potato Hash

Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:

Olive oil, for sautéing

½ pound breakfast sausage or ½ pound bacon

1lb sweet potatoes, pealed and cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into rather tin half moons

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper

1 cup extra sharp cheddar or manchego cheese, shredded

2 cups brown rice, steamed

Directions:

1. Brown sausage or bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until just about done.
2. Add the sliced sweet potatoes, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes (stirring minimally. If you stir too much the sweet potatoes will get mushy and will not caramelize) After 5 minutes add the chopped onions. Continue to cook (again stirring minimally) for another 5-7 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and onions are caramelized. Add olive oil as needed to keep food from scorching.
3. After the hash is cooked, remove skillet from heat, stir in the shredded cheese and steamed rice and serve warm with fried eggs or salsa and tortillas.

Source: Adapted from Naomi

Gwenevere