We’ve been really lazy on 2018’s weekends so far, especially when it comes to weekend breakfast’s/lunch/brunch meals and getting out of bed early. I mean it’s hard to be motivated when every morning it’s usually somewhere between 5 and 20 degrees, making doing things outside or get started with your day a little harder. That being said, this hash is the perfect lazy, eat brunch around 2 pm on a cold winter day, type of meal. Not to mention it’s made of all good thing’s- veggies, sweet potato’s and chicken sausage, letting you stick to those healthy eating resolutions and feel spoiled.
I will say, we did better than usual this morning and went on a chilly but fun 2 mile hike on some nearby trails. This was 500% because of puppy parent guilt and knowing that Tilly has a ton of pent up energy due to the freezing weather and lack of a big yard, which she has now started expressing in shredding toilet paper. Our angel 8 month old puppy who has literally never misbehaved, doesn’t make any sense she’s an alien, started acting out. So, outside we go.
After dressing like we we’re going skiing, I’m happy to say Adam and I were quite comfortable and pretty much spent the entire hike laughing at Tilly who had the zoomies, nearly killed us by running by with straight up branches and taking out our knee’s and watching her jump over logs like she’s a kangaroo. Literally endless energy- I need some of that to rub off on me. After only one close call where our water obsessed puppy tried to step onto the iced over lake and her rear end fell through, I think we all feel much more accomplished this Sunday.
Needless to say, we came home with an exhausted pup and both of us starving. This hash was the perfect filling, warm and healthy brunch that didn’t make our active morning feel like it went to waste. I’ve made different versions of this, but this time using the jalepeno chicken sausage, fresh thyme and a poached egg, made it my favorite hash yet! It could also be that we ate at 3 p.m and hunger is the best seasoning. lol
Sunday Sweet Potato Hash w/ Poached Egg
* Head to the bottom of post for printer friendly recipe!
Do yourself a favor and just go ahead and chop all your veggies and the chicken sausage, as that’s going to make this one of the easiest things you’ve ever made. So small dice the yellow onion, garlic and green pepper and put to the side in a bowl. Use about 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and chop up those leaves as well, about 2 tsp’s worth. These will add some great fresh flavor at the end.
Small dice the chicken sausage links and put aside as well.
I recommend cubing the sweet potato into about 1/2″ cubes, as it will cook quicker and feels more like a hash. In order to save you some time in the long run, bring a pot of water to boil and add some salt and dash of vinegar to the water. By cooking the sweet potato’s in boiling water for about 5 minutes, they will soften just enough to be edible, keeping you from having to sauté them for what feels like hours.
Tip: The vinegar in the water helps keep the potato starches from completely breaking down, enabling them to soften without crumbling. This makes being able to crisp up your potato’s in the skillet afterwards a lot easier as well.
Now, here’s why this is the easiest dish ever. You sauté everything in batches and then toss all together in the end. Nothing hard about that.
So start with the sweet potato’s. Once the potato’s are softened and drained, sauté them in the cast iron skillet until slightly crispy and brown. I tossed salt, pepper chili powder and cumin on top to add a little more flavor.
Remove from the heat and add your next batch of veggies, the onions and green peppers, and cook until starting to caramelize. Add the chicken sausage into the veggie skillet so they can all share some flavors with one another, and after the meat has browned toss in the garlic last for a quick sauté.
Add the cooked sweet potato’s back in the skillet and top with another round of spices, chopped fresh thyme and let simmer together for 2 minutes. At this point it’s up to you on how you want to top off your hash! You can eat it alone or topped off with some cheese, a fried egg, or a poached one.
I love poached egg’s and am forever on the treck to perfecting my poached egg abilities so try to practice with as many dishes as possible.
Here are 5 tips for making the perfect poached egg:
- Use a shallow pan. This makes it easier to pick up the poached egg’s and fit more in the pan at a time.
- Put vinegar in the simmering water. The vinegar helps keep the egg white’s close to the yolk, which keeps the poached egg from falling apart.
- Swirl the simmering water and pour the egg gently into the vortex. The swirling movement also helps keep the egg whites close to the yolk.
- Crack your egg through a hand held sieve over a bowl. This helps lesson some of the egg white’s, which can cause tentacle like strands when poaching. Shout out to Bon Appetit for teaching me this!
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the poached egg from the water. This way you can easily drain the egg from the excess water without making your dish soggy.
Since one of the best part’s of this dish is that it’s healthier, aka no bread, use the sweet potato’s to soak up the runny yolk of the poached egg, which will make the dish even more savory. We added some slices of avocado on top for something else fresh. After being outside in the cold, the warmth and richness of the dish really hit the spot! I hope you love it for your next late weekend brunch!
Throw on some hot sauce and dig in! Let me know below if you want to see a video showing how to poach the perfect egg to help.
Prep Time | 10 minutes |
Cook Time | 30 |
Servings |
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- 1.5 Sweet Potato washed and skin on
- 1/2 Green Bell Pepper chopped
- 1/3 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 Avacado
- 2 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 2 links Jalapeno Chicken Sausage Trader Joes brand is my favorite.
- 3 Eggs
- 3 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
Ingredients
Spices
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- Start by scrubbing and cubing the sweet potato's.
- Bring water to a boil and add a dash of salt and vinegar. Pour the cubed sweet potato into boiling water for about 5 minutes.
- While the sweet potato's soften, dice all your veggies: yellow onion, green bell pepper, garlic cloves and set aside.
- Dice your chicken sausage links and also set aside.
- At this point the sweet potato should have softened a bit and drain them with a strainer.
- Heat ghee and olive oil in a cast iron skillet or regular pan, and sauté the sweet potatoes for about 15 minutes. Add salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder ( I gave approximate amounts in the ingredients but feel free to pick amount that suits you best) and stir spices into the sweet potato's.
- Let cook until potato's start to get crispy and browned.
- Remove potato's from skillet, and add a little more ghee or olive oil, and sauté onions and green peppers together. Cook until onions start to caramelize and peppers are a bit softer. Add diced chicken sausage and season veggies & meat with salt, pepper and a dash of cumin.
- Once chicken sausage starts to brown, about 3-5 minutes, add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute.
- Add the sweet potato's back into the skillet and toss everything all together over the heat for another few minutes.
- Add a tsp of chopped fresh thyme and mix together.
- Stir and season to taste. Top with a fried or poached egg, some hot sauce and dig in!
- The easy trick to making awesome poached eggs! Use a shallow pot and fill with cold water.
- Bring water to a simmer, just under a boil. You don't want it to be a rolling boil so if it get's to that point turn down the heat until the water is simmering instead.
- Crack an egg into a small handheld sieve- this helps get rid of some of the loose extra egg whites which often make's it hard for homemade poached eggs to turn out.
- If you don't have a small hand held sieve, you can act like you're separating the egg yolks from the egg whites, but only transfer the egg one time between the shells. This will allow a little bit of the whites to come out but not all of them. * Be Careful of breaking the yolk using this method!
- Whether using a sieve or not, gently place the egg into a small dish.
- Once water is gently simmering, pour a tablespoon of vinegar into the water and stir water to make a small vortex.
- Tip the egg out of the bowl into the center of the vortex and swirl water gently around the egg to help keep the white's cooking around the yolk.
- Cook until whites are set but yolk looks still soft, about 2-3 minutes, and then transfer with a slotted spoon, allowing the extra water to drain before putting on top of your dish!
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Enjoy the delicious yolk of the poached egg with your hash, making the perfect addition to the crispy potatoes and caramelized vegetables.
Click here to learn more about how to poach eggs!