Sweet Potato Hash, Open Face Fall Sammie (Vegan)
Sweet Potato Hash, Open Face Fall Sammie
Category: Vegan
Why you should make this asap:
This sweet and savory sandwich is a little bit of heaven. Savory sweet potato hash with Fall herbs and spices, paired with simple avocado, balsamic soaked red onions, a guilt free english muffin and vegan ranch drizzle for the perfect cool down… its basically got it all goin on. I use the Ezekiel brand english muffins because of the dense grain flavor that really holds up to the punch of the balsamic and the weight of the hash. Best part? You only have 5 dishes to clean after all is said and done. Yeah, you read that right. You need a skillet, a toaster, a knife, a spatula and a cutting board. But you don’t need a plate because you’ll eat this straight from your hand the second it’s ready. All this yumminess for such little clean up? Dreams do come true.
The Story
(recipe below)
I’m what I’d call an avid potato consumer. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and every snack in between. I have zero guilt over the amount I’ve eaten in my life. In fact, I was once told that my Norwegian heritage most likely means I should have a steady diet of potatoes and that my body was made to eat them. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I’m going to choose to believe it.
I. Love. Potatoes.
Sweet potatoes though… for years they were much harder for me to eat. I couldn’t blame them for trying to be a potato, but they weren’t fooling me- they were yams. A potato should be savory, and these were sweet. TBH, it pissed me off every time I bit into a sweet potato fry and I avoided them for years. It wasn’t until my late twenties when I dipped a sweet potato fry in ranch that I realized this sweet and savory pairing was life altering. And I’ve never looked back. Welcome to my potato obsession, Mr. sweet potato.
“Potatoes are a vessel for flavors- spices, sauces, butters and creams- they are true miracle’s.”
Truthfully, there is no insane story behind this sandwich, except for that potatoes are everything, and I’ve loved them forever and Id put them on anything. There isn’t a potato dish that has been made for me, or that I’ve made, that I didn’t love. Truthfully. What spices are in the pantry? Whats in the fridge? How can I mix it all together with a potato? It’s always a cooking adventure. They are nostalgic and comforting and remind me of the ultimate experiment cooking in my parents kitchen growing up.
Potatoes are a vessel for flavors- spices, sauces, butters and creams- they are true miracle’s. Hash itself is one of my favorite things because it’s incredibly simple and soaks up tons of flavor while sautéing in a frying pan and crisping all over. And to be honest, you don’t need much to make them great. My advice? Get any flavors you love- soak, cover and surround some potatoes in it and enjoy.
This sandwich is a bunch of things I like, elevating the potato to shine. As it should be.
The Recipe
Ingredients
The Hash
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (this makes enough for about 4-5 sandwiches… but I recommend making this amount, even if you’re cooking for one, and storing remainder in fridge)
2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 tablespoons vegan butter, if you have it (for extra flavor)
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
3 strong dashes of pumpkin spice
1/2 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
salt (to taste- start with 1/2 teaspoon)
white pepper (to taste- start with 3 dashes)
Onion Salt Trader Joes (TJ brand has lots of flavors included in their mix, so I like this best; you will need a few dashes)
The Sandwich
2-3 Ezekiel Bread English muffins (you will only use 1/2 per sandwich)
Vegan butter (about 1 teaspoon per sandwich)
2 Avocados sliced
1/3 cup sliced Red Onions, soaked in Balsamic Vinegar
Vegan Ranch (as much as your heart desires; I like the Trader Joes brand best)
Instructions
Balsam those red onions. If you can get ahead of yourself in a perfect world, then slice about 1/3 of a red onion and put them in a sealed Tupperware with enough balsamic vinegar to cover the onions. Store in fridge overnight. If you can’t get as ahead as overnight, then shoot for at least 30 minutes before they are needed.
Get that hash going! In mixing bowl, add peeled/diced sweet potatoes with all spices (granulated garlic, pumpkin spice, sage, thyme, salt and pepper). Drizzle in avocado oil and melted vegan butter. Mix together then pour into sauté pan (and don’t forget to scrape all the good seasoned oil that remains in your mixing bowl!).
Place sauté pan with hash mixture on low/med heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Check occasionally but try not to lift the lid too much as the steam helps soften the potatoes. When the potatoes are tender but not mushy, uncover, sprinkle with Trader Joes Onion salt, mix and turn heat up to med/high.
Continue sautéing hash, uncovered, but be careful to not over mix or else the potatoes will mush. What you want is to leave the potatoes cooking on a higher heat for about 5 minutes at a time… you are looking for a nice crisp. Say to yourself “crisp, mix, crisp, mix, crisp mix”… you don’t want it to burn, but you want that crisp!
While the hash is cooking, get the other ingredients prepped and ready to assemble. Slice the English muffins in half, get the butter ready for spreading, slice the avocado and get the ranch ready to drizzle.
Assemble that open face sammy! When the has is done, set aside off of hot burner and start toasting the English muffin half. Once done toasting, spread the butter on the English muffin, lay avocado slices on top and then pile high with hot hash! Once piled high, layer on balsamic soaked onions (maybe even give a good splash of some of the remaining balsamic liquid if you’re feeling crazy) and then drizzle with ranch. Enjoy!
TIPS/CHEATS
Quick Cheat: Buy a couple packs of fresh, diced organic sweet potatoes from Whole Foods or another market you love. Save yourself the time of peeling and dicing!
Soak to perfection: The longer you can soak these red onions in the balsamic vinegar, the yummier they are… on anything!
Non Stick all the way: If you’re not using a non stick pan, you’re going to be sad. Non stick will help you when it comes to being able to crisp and mix without your hash getting mushy.
Avoid slippage: When layering, think about slippage. You want the avocado underneath the hash so that the avocado stays in place and every bite has all the goods.
