On our little camping trip to Whidbey Island, we had just spent the night in our mini-tent, woke up refreshed in the clear morning air, and made the four-mile trip to our son's campsite for breakfast. I reveled in my good fortune at being just about to enjoy an open-air breakfast that I didn't even have to cook! Food under these circumstances always tastes better, and my steaming bowl of oatmeal confirmed this. It was absolutely plain—no raisins, no soymilk—and it tasted fantastic. I was savoring each mouthful when my son offered me some leftover sweet potatoes he'd brought from home and heated up. "Uh, no thanks," I said. I know sweet potatoes are nutritionally superior, but there's something about them that doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it's the sweetness. I like the color. : ) I like them garlicky and baked into fries. But, there in the quiet of my yummy oatmeal bliss, they looked like ... sweet potatoes. It was clear, though, that he REALLY wanted me to try them, so I plucked a small piece from the pan and whoa, there was a burst of delicious flavor that I didn't expect. "These are really good!" I said. "I should post the recipe on the blog."
Sweet potato hash browns
- 3 sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, small diced
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- oil
- habanero pepper sauce (Noah likes Marie Sharp's Belizean Heat but any habanero sauce will do)
- salt and pepper
- Heat a cast iron skillet and add some oil (1 or 2 tablespoons) Sauté the onion and garlic about a minute. (Don't burn the garlic!)
- Add potato and continue to cook until the potato is soft. (If potato mixture gets too dry, add a couple spoonfuls of water to the pan.)
- Add habanero sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.
