Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Sweet Potato (Yam) hash


I admit that for a long time I had a fear of sweet potatoes.  I had tasted them as that sickly sweet mushy pie and my mother had taken them directly from a can, glazed them with additional sugar product and added marshmallows. Even the idea of a sweet potato fry filled with with dread.

Since they are a nutritional powerhouse I finally got over my fear and am so glad I did. All weekend and today I did this dish at Farm Market Demos and gave a real boost to the farms selling the ingredients. I also did it for a dinner this past Tuesday, it was a multi course tasting menu and the plate with the sweet potato has came back clean from all 4 diners. This dish can be a hit as a side dish with fish, and just as easily a breakfast or brunch dish.

2 nice sized sweet potatoes peeled (any type from yellow to the pictured purple)
1 small appled (russet is nice, but any type will do)
1 large onion finely chopped or 3 leeks

Olive Oil
Salt
A good dousing of black pepper

Get out your cheese grater and shred the sweet potatoes and apple. Dump them in a pan that has been drizzled with olive oil. Saute at medium heat for about 10 minutes and throw in the onions. When it all begins to brown give it some salt and several grinds of black pepper, don't be shy, sweet potatoes love black pepper. Let it develop a little more crunch and color and serve.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This sounds fantastic, like all your stuff, Karl. I have always loved sweet potatoes, but when I started trying to watch my weight and choose more healthful options several years ago, they became a go-to ataple at my house.

My general method is to slice them in rounds or like traditional french fries, toss them in a bowl with olive oil, put them on a cookie sheet, salt and pepper, bake a while, turn and finish.

Like yours, there are never any left over. But I will definitely try your recipe. Great idea to use them as a breakfast dish. Thanks again for all you do here.