As a young kid I hated sweet potatoes. I had never tried one, but I just knew, deep down, that I’d hate it and so I did. I don’t remember when I got over this assumed hatred of them, but it wasn’t until I was at least 11 or 12, and even then I only learned to like them reluctantly. I look back at that time and wonder why. It made no sense as it combined 2 things I loved the most; potatoes and something sweet. While I may never understand why I didn’t like them, at least I got over it and now adore sweet potatoes. Not only are they great in their traditional uses but make a nice surprise when replacing normal potatoes in dishes where one doesn’t expect to find sweet potatoes such as in potato salads or a breakfast hash.

Today, many people like to play up their sweet side, but I often prefer to down play their sweetness and instead enjoy them for the subtle floral qualities that they possess. And while they are flavorful enough to stand up to the most complex of dishes, they also do wonderfully in simple preparations such as this wonderful gratin that I like to serve as a autumn or winter side dish.

Spicy Sweet Potato Gratin

4-5 pounds sweet potato
2-2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups Parmesan, shaved or grated
salt
pepper
ground chipotle pepper
2 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using the butter, generously grease a 9×13 baking pan. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them about 1/8″ thick. Lay down a single layer of the sweet potatoes, overlapping them slightly. Season lightly with salt, pepper and chipotle pepper, then sprinkle with some of the cheese.

Continue layering the potatoes, with the seasoning and cheese, until all the potatoes are used up, and making sure that you have at least 1/2 cup of cheese left for the top. Add enough cream to just barely come to the top of the potatoes and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

My family isn’t super big on breakfast, at least on the weekdays. It’s usually a grab and go affair as both me and my wife would rather spend the extra few minutes in bed than get up and make something substantial, although we always see to that our daughter gets a good breakfast. Things change on the weekends. If we don’t go out for breakfast then we will usually cook a substantial meal. My wife usually does the cooking in the morning as I am not much of a morning person, though I do a fair share of the breakfasts as is evidenced by the number of breakfast food posts I have done.

It was Valentine’s Day today so I decided that for one of my gifts to my wife, I would do breakfast. I love to make hashes of all kinds and thought hash and poached eggs would be a great choice for the day. Hashes, traditionally, have been a way to use up the previous night’s leftovers, and I find them a great way to clean out a fridge and turn those leftovers into something tasty and useful. Hashes are a great way to stretch out meat since hashes oftentimes rely heavily on potatoes and vegetables.

The has I created for our Valentine’s Brunch did not incorporate any leftovers but was still rather economical and full of great flavor!

Smoked Turkey Hash with Sweet Potatoes
serves 4

2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1/4″ dice
2 cups Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1/4″ dice
2 cups smoked turkey breast, from the deli counter, cut into 1/4 -1/2″ dice
1 small onion, minced
1/4 cup green or red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2
Tabasco to taste
salt
pepper

Bring 2 pots, with a quart of water in each, to a boil. Cook the potatoes, separately, for 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil and 1 Tbsp. of bacon fat (you can use all vegetable oil if necessary). Add the onions and cook 1 minute. Add the potatoes, turkey, and bell pepper.

Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 & 1/2 and tabasco. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium high and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Gently press down on the hash and allow to cook for about 3 minutes. Gently flip the hash and press down again so that as much of the hash can come into contact the with bottom of the skillet as possible. Cook 4-5 minutes then flip again. Continue this process until the vegetables are tender and you get the hash as crusty as you like.

Divide among 4 plates and serve topped with 2 poached eggs.