Lekker: Brunch-y Sweet Potato Hash

After my wild bumper crop of gigantic sweet potatoes from our back garden, combined with a spur-of-the-moment visit into town by one of my cousins this past weekend, I knew it was the perfect occasion for my favourite fall brunch dish: Sweet Potato Hash. This is perfect for the morning after Thanksgiving and makes such lovely use of seasonal produce. It can even be made up to two days in advance of when you plan to serve it, hence being perfect for Thanksgiving-morning-after: just reheat it in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes until warm. With a fried egg on top it's a complete meal, filling and delicious.

Give it a whirl this Sunday, and gents--this is a surefire way to absolutely, unequivocally impress your lady friend the morning after. Don't say I never did anything for you.

My egg is not pretty here. I was being time-constructive and cooking several in a pan at once, hence the unattractive cut lines. But, an egg is still an egg and when you burst the yolk of this over-easy beauty it creates a lovely sauce to meld with the hash underneath.

Brunch-y Sweet Potato Hash
serves 4

What You Need
2 tablespoons butter
1 large or two medium onions, peeled and sliced into half-moons
about 1/2 pound (or 4 links) Italian sausage; I like to use HOT but you could use mild too
2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Olive oil, about 2-3 tablespoons
salt & pepper, to taste

Large eggs, to serve--and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese, if you really wanna go all out (And come on, you're making all this effort, right? May as well.)

What You Do
1. Preheat the oven to 450. In a large saucepan or skillet, heat the butter until it melts and add your chopped onions. Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until they're well browned and nicely caramelised. It'll probably take about that long for your oven to heat up, plus you can be peeling and dicing the sweet potato and garlic at this time too.

2. Squeeze the sausage out of its natural casings onto a separate plate and break it up a bit with your fingers. Toss that into the skillet with the onions and cook over medium heat until it's well browned and cooked through, breaking up with a wooden spoon until it's all nicely crumbled.

3. In a large bowl, toss your diced sweet potato, dried rosemary, and fresh minced garlic with the olive oil until well coated and seasoned to your liking. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

4. So, your onions are now caramelised and brown and delicious smelling and the sausage has cooked through. Excellent. Toss that goodness into the bowl with the sweet potatoes and stir up nicely with a big wooden spoon. Spread out onto the baking sheet in one even layer, and pop into the oven.

5. Pour yourself a mimosa and enjoy your lovely brunch company for the next 20-30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have roasted through. You'll know when you stick a piece with your fork and it goes through tenderly. I like to dice my sweet potatoes pretty small because they'll roast faster.

Just before the hash is finished roasting, you have the option to cook up some eggs to serve on top. Everyone in my little group wanted something different, so I told them all to shut up and they all got over easy. Everyone can make their peace with over easy! :)

Cheers to enjoying a beautiful weekend morning with beloved friends.

Original recipe found here, but I find the instructions a bit time-consuming for my impatient self (and really hate fresh rosemary) so this is my version.