Basic Sweet Potato & Chile Hash

Adapted from FineCooking, November 2001”Delicious Wayswith Sweet Potatoes” by Karen & BenBarker. (There are more awesome recipes in the article.The Chile Mayonnaise recipe is a keeper, too.)

Here is a recipe that I love–the combination of the sweetness of the sweet potato, with the slight “burn” of the chile pepper is just great.  The hash is excellent on its own–with grilled meats, or fish as well, and a fantastic accompaniment to eggs any way you like them.   It holds well in the fridge so “leftover” is not a bad thing with this.  If you ignore quantities, just pay attention to the flavors, you can use that half sweet potato left from the roasted Brussels sprouts to get a similar side dish in single-serving quantity since the recipe calls for you to precook the sweet potato.

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 6 tablespoons olive oil; more as needed.
• 1 small onion, diced (to yield 1 cup)
• ½ red bell pepper, diced (to yield ½ cup)
• 2 small fresh poblano or Anaheim chiles (or other medium-hot chiles), cored, seeded, and diced (to yield ¾ cup)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1-2 jalapeños, cored, seeded, and minced
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt; more to taste
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Cook the diced sweet potatoes in boiling salted water until firm-tender, about 3 minutes.  Drain well and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat.
• Cook the onion, red pepper, and diced chiles, (except the jalapeños) stirring frequently, until all are well softened and the onion is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and jalapeños, cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a plate.
• Increase the heat to medium and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in the pan.
• When the oil is not, add the sweet potatoes and cook, tossing frequently, until the edges begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Return t he onion and pepper mixture to the pan.
• Stir in the salt, cilantro, oregano, and lime juice; season with pepper to taste….