Sweet Potato Hash Browns

We are buried under a couple of feet of snow here in Chicago and it is still coming down this cold Sunday morning.  It feels like the perfect time for an omelet and hash brown brunch, topped off with two slices of the Sourdough Whole Wheat Flaxseed and Sunflower Seed Bread that I have been working on and is just about perfect.  (But that is for a future post.)

I have also been working on hash browns.  A few years ago I wrote this post about my father's hash browns and how I never had the patience to make them myself.  Now I find that it is no trouble at all - it's funny how things change.

I had part of a sweet potato in the refrigerator so I decided to make my hash browns with those.  I don't really follow a recipe, but I thought I would share my technique with you.

This is about a third of a large sweet potato, cut into 1/4-inch cubes.  I wanted a smaller cut so they would cook faster.  I filled my non-stick 10-inch skillet with about 2 teaspoons of grapeseed oil and heated the oil over medium high heat.  When the oil was shimmering I added the potatoes and shook the pan to coat the cubes in oil and to get them as close to a single layer as possible.

I lowered the heat and let them cook for 10 minutes without touching them.

After that first 10 minutes I shook the pan to get the cooked sides up and then left it again for about 5 minutes this time.  I shook the skillet to redistribute the potatoes and then left it for another 5 minutes.  I tested a piece with a fork for tenderness and it was almost there.  I left it alone for another 3 minutes and the potatoes were perfectly tender when I did the fork test this time.

And then I added my spices.  I try to incorporate turmeric and cinnamon into my diet on a daily basis so whenever the opportunity arises I use those first.  Those flavors work well with sweet potatoes so I added about a fourth of a teaspoon each of turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, and cumin and cooked it for about a minute until the potatoes were well coated and the heat had released the oils of the spices.  I added salt at the end and then transferred the potatoes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

I made the omelette while the potatoes were cooking.  I used the method that I wrote about here.  I will be posting my recipe for the bread soon.