There is nothing I love more than a hearty brunch on a fall day in New York. However, what I DON’T love about brunch is the perpetually long wait one must endure and the need most New Yorkers have to get dressed up for this meal. By making brunch at home, I can cut out both of my brunch complaints – eating in sweats and not passing out from starvation waiting for a table! Last week, one of my favorite cooking blogs, A Cozy Kitchen, posted a recipe for Sweet Potato and Lardon Hash. It looked so yummy that I had to give it a try. You can find their recipe here and my recipe with adaptations below. If you’ve never poached an egg before, I found a super helpful post on Smitten Kitchen on how to poach an egg. Check it out here if you need a primer. It worked perfectly on my first try. Thanks SK!!
Sweet Potato and Lardon Hash
Serves 2
Ingredients
1/2 lb. slab bacon, sliced into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch cubes
Olive oil (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large sweet potato, sliced into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 yellow onion, loosely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, loosely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
4 large eggs, poached
Directions
1. In a medium-size skillet, over medium-high heat, cook the slab bacon for 4-5 minutes, until thoroughly cooked. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lardons and transfer to a paper towel to drain. Set aside.
2. In the same skillet (don’t rinse it out – you want to use that bacon grease!), add the sweet potatoes, cumin and paprika. Stirring regularly, cook on medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are cooked (aka soft when you bite into them). Be sure to give the largest cubes of sweet potato a taste to be sure they’re thoroughly cooked. During the cooking, if you notice the sweet potato starting to dry out, add a little bit of olive oil to the skillet. Don’t be too concerned if the sweet potatoes get a little charred – mine did and they still tasted awesome.
3. Add the yellow onion and red bell pepper to the skillet and cook for 2-3 more minutes on medium-high heat. Once soft, add the garlic to the skillet and cook until it becomes fragrant (1-2 minutes). Add salt and pepper (to taste) here. A note on the onion and pepper: don’t chop them too small or they will burn in the skillet. You want the pieces of onion and pepper to be slightly smaller than the sweet potato and slab bacon.
4. Add the slab bacon back to the skillet and place over low heat to keep warm while you poach the eggs. A note on poaching eggs: you can poach the eggs while you are cooking the sweet potato and keep them on a paper towel until right before you want to eat. Then put the eggs in hot water (not boiling) to warm them up again and serve.
5. Divide hash mixture into two plates and top each serving with two poached eggs.
Sweet Southern Comfort 