I can’t say I’ve joined the Paleo craze, but I am definitely interested in it. Well parts of it. Actually I read an article a little while ago about becoming Pegan. It kind of makes more sense to me than anything else – eat low GI, eat good fats, increase fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds in your diet and treat grains, dairy and meat as a treat. Click here to read more…
I pretend to be pegan but truth be told I just try to eat a balanced healthy diet…with a few treats of course! I choose to eat food with high nutritional content when I can and follow a few simple nutrition rules I’ve learnt along the way. I try to ensure I eat vegetables or green things with every meal and include superfoods when I can. I strive to not eat too much bread, but when I do it’s homemade with very few ingredients or packed full of seeds and nuts. I swap cows milk for coconut or almond milk where possible and palatable and decrease sugar or substitute for natural sugars if I can. And I carry healthy snacks like raw almonds with me in my handbag so I don’t reach for something I’ll regret. Lastly, cheese on toast is not my go-to late lunch of choice! These are lessons I can teach and share with my children.
We visited a The Paleo Cafe in Townsville when back home for Christmas. They had an amazing looking cookbook for sale that had some great looking recipes that looked super easy and super tasty. I spent the entire meal with my head in the cookbook ignoring my darling husband and letting the kids play in the kids corner! One thing that caught my eye was sweet potato hash that appeared there and other paleo restaurants we’ve been to. What’s better than sweet potato hash? Sweet potato hash with soft poached eggs on top! The soft centred poached eggs oozing out into the sweet potato that helps soak up the yolks and mop up every last delicious mouthful. It’s my new favourite breakfast and if I have an extra few minutes in the morning, you will find me holding the box grater going for gold with my sweet potato! Here is the recipe if you want to try it too…
Sweet Potato Hash with Soft Poached Eggs
INGREDIENTS
For the Sweet Potato:
- 1 medium/large sweet potato
- A few shakes of garlic powder
- A dash or a sprinkle of Onion powder
- A hearty pinch of Herbes de Provence
- Small pinch of ground Urfa or Aleppo Chilis (optional)
- Pink Himalayan Salt or Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons fat of your choice – I used a mixture of Coconut Oil and Ghee
For the Eggs:
- 1-2 eggs per person
- Pinch of sweet paprika
- Salt & pepper
METHOD
For the Sweet Potato:
- Peel and grate the sweet potato. If you have a good processor with the grater blade attachment, then this step will be a wizz!
- Mix in the herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, chili (if using) and salt and pepper to taste. I just keep the sweet potato on my chopping board all grated and spread it out, then sprinkle the seasoning on top rather than dirtying a mixing a bowl.
- In the meantime, heat the oil/fat in a cast iron or non stick pan. Once it’s hot, stir fry the sweet potato mixture and stir fry for a few minutes ensuring it’s all well coated with the fat. Then cover with a lid and keep on medium heat to cook for a few more minutes. When brown crunchy bits start forming, mix it/flip it a bit and leave for a few more minutes to cook until more yummy brown crunchy bits form. The sweet potato is done when the brown crunchy bits form and the sweet potato is soft and tender.
For the Eggs:
- While the sweet potato is cooking, poach or steam the eggs to your liking. I definitely like runny yolks to go all oozy over the sweet potato. If you need tips to poach eggs, watch this video here from BBC Good Food.
To serve, share the sweet potato mixture between two plates, and top with the eggs. Season the eggs with salt, pepper and a sprinkle of red sweet paprika (for the Hungarians!).
Enjoy!
Kurth Kitchen 