Monday, February 27, 2012

Winner at....Making Sweet Potato Hash

This is one of our favorite recipes now that we are 7 weeks into our new Paleo diet/lifestyle:


Sweet Potato Hash Ingredients:
2-4 large (or 3-5 medium) sweet potatoes
2 cups chopped spinach (fresh)
6-8 slices of bacon
1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil or butter)
1/8 cup finely chopped yellow or white onion
salt & pepper to taste
Optional:
2 cloves fresh garlic finely chopped or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted, chopped pecans
 
Wash sweet potatoes, vent with knife and microwave on high 3-4 mins for medium potatoes and 7-8 mins for very large potatoes. Allow to cool slightly, then peel & dice into cubes. Potatoes should still be very firm, but peeling will go much easier & cooking will take less time by microwaving them for a few minutes first. Set pan temp to just above medium and cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan & set aside.  Add coconut oil (or olive oil or butter) to bacon grease & bring heat up to medium-high. Add onion and sauté until soft (approx 2-4 mins). Optional - we also occasionally add either minced fresh garlic, raisins, dried cranberries and/or pecans at this point, particularly if using butter (preferably Kerry Gold grass fed butter!).  Next, add diced sweet potatoes to pan. Salt & pepper liberally. Cook on med-high for 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly browned, then cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 3-5 minutes.  Remove lid and stir in chopped spinach.  You may have to do this 1 cup at a time and then cover and wait 1-2 minutes in between to allow spinach to wilt - it will cook down VERY quickly!  Once all spinach has been added, re-cover and allow to simmer at medium to medium low for another 5 minutes until sweet potatoes are nearly mush but with larger solid chunks still visible.  Crumble bacon over mixture. Stir thoroughly and simmer uncovered 3-5 more minutes to allow flavors to blend. Remove from heat & serve warm.  For breakfast, this is delicious served with an over-medium egg on top!!