Sweet Potato Love

Over the past couple of years I've been developing an increasing appreciation of sweet potatoes, thanks to daughter Fran's cooking. Last week, daughter Lise made these sweet potato fries to go with a rotisserie chicken for a quick dinner. Heavenly! Absolutely heavenly! They were tender and moist on the inside with a caramelly tasting, slightly crunchy exterior.


I suppose that's why I woke up Saturday wondering if there were any recipes for sweet potato hash browns on the web. I began a search that left me wondering which version to make. The cakes or the hash browns?

Jodi on Twitter suggested I make one version on Saturday and the other on Sunday. I was still wondering whether it was a wise experiment. So I stored that idea and crept on.

I included all the recipes below, because I borrowed from each to make 2 dishes that best suited N's and my tastes. I made simple hash browns for Saturday, seasoning only with salt and pepper, yet including the onion sauteed in bacon fat.

On Sunday morning, I took the remaining half of food processor shredded sweet potatoes (yes, 2 medium/large potatoes are twice as many as two people need) and borrowed from two of the other recipes to create patties with egg whites, olive oil, parmasean and Gruyere cheese and rosemary.

I'll be making both versions again and again and again. What pushed the patties over the top for me? Two over easy eggs on top. What I'll add next time? I'm thinking a patty or two of breakfast sausage. My taste buds hinted that would be a delightful accompaniment.
~K <3

Remember, sweet potatoes will turn to mush with too many flicks of the spatula--utilize the timer to curb overflipping tendency. 
(click here to print all)

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

1 ½ pounds sweet potato, peeled, shredded
1 cup chopped onion
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Mix sweet potatoes and onions in a large bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-low to medium heat in a large skillet. Add about half of the sweet potatoes and onions, and stir to coat. Press with a spatula to flatten. Cook about 7-8 minutes; do not stir. Flip, and cook another 3-5 minutes. Remove from skillet, and set aside. Repeat to cook remaining vegetables. When done, combine the two batches in the skillet. Cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about ½ cup)

Recipe Notes
To shred potatoes, it's best to use a food processor (shredding disc attachment). Variation: Use a combination of sweet potatoes and Yukon Gold or russet potatoes.
Makes a great breakfast dish!

(K's notes: Only used sweet potato/yam. Shredded, sprinkled with water, covered with side vents and microwaved until just tender, seasoned with a tsp rosemary, salt, pepper, gruyere and Parmesan cheese, left out curry)
Crispy Sweet Potato Hash Brown Cakes

Makes about 10-12 pancakes
1 large sweet potato, skin removed and grated
2 medium white potatoes, skinned and grated
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp paprika
dash of salt and pepper
1-2 TB olive oil for skillet

Blend ingredients and form into rounded patties with hands with about 1/3 cup of mixture. Place oil in pan over medium heat and cook pancakes for about 4 minutes until nicely browned on each side.  Serve with a bit of yogurt and cilantro or as desired.  These are great with curried chicken and a salad.


Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Ingredients:
1/4 pound diced bacon
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound sweet potatoes (roughly 3 medium) — peeled and grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large skillet, over medium high heat, fry the bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes.
Add the onions and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the garlic and sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Source: Emeril Lagasse


Rosemary and cheese sweet potato hash browns

Ingredients
For hash brown
3 medium sweet potatoes
5-6 slices pickled jalapenos
1 tbsp corn flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp rosemary
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Grate the sweet potatoes and add the corn flour, salt, pepper, jalapenos, rosemary and 1 tbsp olive oil to it. Mix well and keep aside. Mix the rest of the olive oil and rosemary in a bowl. Heat the skillet and  brush it with the olive oil and rosemary. Fill the molds with the sweet potato mix. Top with grated Parmesan  cheese, cover  and  cook on  medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Keep checking to see that it doesn't burn. Slide them out out with a tooth pick or a sharp knife and serve