CSA Cooking: Sweet Potato Rainbow Hash

Big news! We finally made the leap into signing up for our own CSA box! This is something my bf Rob has wanted to do for awhile, and the rest of the roommates and I quickly got on board.

The natural choice was Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an Austin favorite. If you’re not familiar with CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), here’s an explanation from JBG:

Community Supported Agriculture is much different than going to the local grocery and buying your vegetables. It is a direct partnership between you the consumer, and our farm. CSA members pay in advance for a share of the upcoming harvest and are ensured access to truly nourishing food, food that is grown locally, organically and is delivered when most nutritious and fresh. What’s more, the shareholder cultivates a relationship with their farmer, the land, and with other shareholders. CSA is an opportunity to use your money to support valuable causes: responsible land stewardship, a vibrant local food economy, a healthy community, and the success of local farmers.

Can’t argue with that. Especially considering the amount of vegetables I eat on a weekly basis. We’re getting a medium box every two weeks, plus a half-dozen farm fresh eggs. Our first box, which was delivered last Tuesday, held delights such as sweet potatoes, rainbow carrots (absolutely gorgeous!), kale, spinach, parsley, and even daikon. The fun thing about getting a CSA box is it’s kind of like being on Chopped, except for instead of crazy ingredients it’s a bunch of super fresh, organic produce. You still have to figure out ways to cook it at its peak before it starts going bad, though!

Last Saturday morning I wanted to use up some of our beautiful vegetables and, obviously, try out some of those eggs in our morning meal. I decided to go the hash route. I’ve never put carrots in a hash before, but their crisp sweetness was great with the sweet potatoes. I added some leftover chopped organic chicken breast to bulk up the protein, plus some leftover red  and green onion (not from JBG, but duh, gotta have some onion). The result? A gorgeous rainbow of colors, flavors, and texture. Adding a runny-yolked egg was really just gilding the lily.

Sweet Potato + Carrot Rainbow Hash

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes (equivalent to 1 cup chopped)
3 carrots, also peeled and chopped into coins (also equivalent to 1 cup chopped)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 chicken breast, cooked, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces (if you want to keep it vegetarian, you can obviously omit this and it will still be delicious)
2 eggs
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp herbes de provence
salt, pepper, and red chili flakes to taste

Heat up the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until the sweet potatoes and carrots are cooked through but not mushy, about 10 minutes or so. If you cut these guys too thick, it will take longer, so err on the side of small pieces.

Once the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, add the green onion and chicken and cook together until they’re warmed through, just a few minutes. Add your herbes de provence (I loooove putting this fragrant herb mix in any eggy/breakfast type dish) plus salt, pepper, and red chili flakes to taste.

In a separate skillet, heat a little bit of organic cooking spray or more coconut oil and crack two eggs in. Cook until juuust over easy. You really want that runny yolk in there. Mmm… yolk.

Scoop the vegetable-chicken hash onto two plates and top each serving with an egg. Sprinkle with a little more sea salt and/or fresh cracked black pepper if so desired. Break into that yolk and watch the magic happen.

If these are the kind of impromptu homemade meals I can except thanks to our CSA investment, I think I’m okay with it…

For more healthy recipes, cocktails, food travel, and restaurant reviews, check out ES Emily’s individual blog, A Time to Kale, or tweet her @emilyteachout.