Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash

My family has always LOVED a good breakfast potato hash!  I mean, what's not to love with onions, potatoes, sausage and good seasonings for breakfast, right?!  But we all know that white potatoes are not the healthiest for us... so I decided to make a spicy version of a healthier sweet potato hash that would be somewhere between familiar, exotic, and WOW!  Sweet potatoes rank #1 on the chart of healthy veggies.  They are a complex carbohydrate that won't spike your blood sugar and they are loaded with antioxidants.  As a bonus, this is Paleo friendly... if you're into that sort of thing.

This hash is super easy to throw together in the morning and is just perfect for those leftover roasted sweet potatoes you have in the fridge from last night's dinner.  Use your favorite sausage or turkey sausage and "bam," breakfast is made!  - and don't most of us have a great little black iron skillet in the bottom of a drawer somewhere that needs some love?

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Ingredients:  (for 2 servings)

This is sort of a throw-it-all-in-there recipe.  Not an exact measurement recipe.  So you'll have to forgive the lack of specific measurements.  Have more peeps... use more stuff.

• Half link of andouille sausage
• handful of chopped onions 
• Water as needed (maybe 1/2 cup)
• Leftover roasted sweet potato slices (about 1 cup or so)
• 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (spicy Thai chili paste)
• 1 or 2 large eggs
• Fresh parsley or cilantro, rough chopped
• crushed red pepper flakes

Step-by-step photos:

There really is no trick to making a hash.  So I'm going to "pretend" I did something spectacular here. Pull out your (fully cooked) meat of choice.  I used a jalapeño green onion flavored andouille sausage.  Chorizo would work great.  If you don't have a black iron skillet, use something heavy so you can get some good color on all of this.

I'm not going to add ANY extra oil in this recipe.  Stick with me here.  Cook the sausage until it's on it's way to getting brown, but not dry.  Just a little color.  

about 6" of smoked sausage

Add in a good handful of chopped onions.  I always keep a bag of chopped onions in the freezer for fast meal prep.  As an additional perk, the frozen onions break down faster than the fresh ones.  

~ 1/3 cup onion

Since I'm not adding any oil to sauté the onions, I'm going to deglaze the pan with a couple ounces of water.  As the water cooks out, I kept adding a couple ounces at a time until my onions were nice and soft and translucent.

Add water to the pan to help the onions cook without having to add oil

When the onions are mostly cooked, add in about 1 - 1 1/2 cup leftover roasted sweet potatoes. (These were straight from the fridge and had been roasted with EVOO, salt and pepper.)  If you need to use raw potatoes, you could peel, cut, and microwave them until fairly tender. before adding them. *Don't forget to adjust the seasonings.

leftover roasted sweet potatoes, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.

To get this spicy party started (on top of my jalapeño sausage),  I'm going to add 1 tsp of the Thai chili paste Sambal Oelek.  You can add a different hot sauce if you'd prefer, but I like the flavors and acidity in this one a great deal.  Look for it in the Asian isle of your supermarket.  

1 tsp Sambal Oelek

When things are pretty much all cooked and seasoned to my liking, I'm going to add the finishing touches.  First, make a hole (or two) in the hash, and break your egg(s) right into the skillet very gently being careful not to break the yolk.  

1 or 2 large eggs cooking right in the middle of the hash

While we wait for the egg white(s) to set, sprinkle the top of the hash with some fresh parsley and crushed red pepper flakes.  Turn off the heat when the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny.  The richness of the yolk complements the starchy potatoes and the spicy sausage.  The fresh herbs bring a bright, fresh element to the dish. *Of course, if you'd like yours cooked longer, by all means, go ahead.

fresh parsley to garnish

Now go out and have breakfast on the back porch and watch the world wake up.  With this hearty and healthy breakfast, you will be ready to go out and conquer whatever the day will bring!

I hope you've enjoyed this awesome (and healthy) breakfast recipe!  Scroll all the way down for the written method.

Here are some bonus recipes for you:

Hoisin Beef with Rice Noodles - picky teenager approved!  Do a fun "toppings" bar and let them add their own.

One Pot Skillet Lasagna - because there's nothing better than an easy and delicious one-dish meals on busy work nights!

Beefy Crunch Wrap Supremes - move over Taco Bell.  These are super simple to make at YOUR OWN house!  Watch the teenagers pile in!

BLT Buffalo Chicken Wrap - Make good use of those leftover chicken tenders that your kiddos tend to have.  LOL

Tiramisu - have dessert, too!  (But this one comes with portion control.  Thank goodness.)

Written Method: 

• There really is no trick to making a hash.  So I'm going to "pretend" I did something spectacular here. Pull out your meat of choice.  I used a jalapeño green onion flavored andouille sausage.  Chorizo would work great.  If you don't have a black iron skillet, use something heavy so you can get some good color on all of this.
• I'm not going to add ANY extra oil in this recipe.  Cook the sausage until it's on it's way to getting brown, but not dry.  Just a little color.  
• Add in a good handful of chopped onions.  I always keep a bag of chopped onions in the freezer for fast meal prep.  As an additional perk, the frozen onions break down faster than the fresh ones.  
• Since I'm not adding any oil to sauté the onions, I'm going to deglaze the pan with a couple ounces of water.  As the water cooks out, I kept adding a couple ounces at a time until my onions were nice and soft and translucent.
• When the onions are mostly cooked, add in about 1 - 1 1/2 cup leftover roasted sweet potatoes. (These were straight from the fridge and had been roasted with EVOO, salt and pepper.)  If you need to use raw potatoes, you could peel, cut, and microwave them until fairly tender. before adding them. *Don't forget to adjust the seasonings.
• To get this spicy party started, add 1 tsp of the Thai chili paste Sambal Oelek.  You can add a different hot sauce if you'd prefer, but I like the flavors and acidity in this one a great deal. 
• When things are pretty much all cooked and seasoned to my liking, I'm going to add the finishing touches.  First, make a hole (or two) in the hash, and break your egg(s) right into the skillet very gently being careful not to break the yolk.  
• While we wait for the egg white(s) to set, sprinkle the top of the hash with some fresh parsley and crushed red pepper flakes.  Turn off the heat when the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny.  The richness of the yolk complements the starchy potatoes and the spicy sausage.
• Now go out and have breakfast on the back porch and watch the world wake up.  With this hearty and healthy breakfast, you will be ready to go out and conquer whatever the day will bring!