Making Hash

Ahh, the humble sweet potato.  Possibly one of my most favorite root vegetables, next to the beet.

I'm attempting to grow my own sweet potato slips, by soaking an organic sweet potato I purchased at the market in a mason jar filled with water.  With any luck, it will produce some roots and start sprouting a green vine from the top.  And once that's grown a bit, you apparently pick off the individual "slips" and let them soak in some water, where they will grow roots and then be able to be planted in the garden.  It's an intriguing garden experiment, and if it works, I'll be really excited when fall rolls around and I have some delicious roots to cure and store.  (Incidentally, those decorative sweet potato vines will grow the occasional tuber--which unfortunately taste fairly awful, and even the chickens wouldn't eat them.)

One of my favorite things to do when I am faced with a delicious sweet potato is to make a batch of homemade Sweet Potato Hash.  It's easy, it's good, and I haven't found anybody yet who doesn't seem to like it.

You'll need: one sweet potato of fairly good size; half of a Granny Smith apple; half of a yellow onion; olive oil or cooking fat of your choice (I am still on my lard kick, so used a tablespoon of that); salt and pepper to taste.

Peel the sweet potato, and cut into smallish cubes.  Don't be all anal about it, it's homemade hash for goodness sake.  You also need to chop up the apple into dices, and chop your onion as well.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat and warm up your cooking fat.  Not too much, it's a fairly moist dish so you don't need too much grease.  I used a scant tablespoon of lard.

Toss in your chopped sweet potato, apple and onions and give them a good stir.  Top with a lid or piece of foil (I don't have lidded frying pans, so the foil works great pushed down gently on top of the food) and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes on medium low heat.  Remove the foil after that time, give the veg a stir, and recover for another couple of minutes.  By now, the sweet potato should have softened and the flavors are all coming together.

Remove the foil, and stirring frequently allow the hash to brown up and the moisture to evaporate a little.  This is a good time to season with a little salt and pepper.  Once everything is browned to your liking, serve hash warm with a good scrambled egg or as an accompaniment to a nice bit of roasted chicken or pork.  This makes a great alternative to breakfast potatoes.