Day 5: Vegetables with Breakfast Challenge and Tempeh Sweet Potato Hash

Sometimes you need something a little more substantial to kick-start your morning. This dish has some time involvement, but if you prep some of the ingredients the night before you can have it on the table in a little over 20 minutes. It’s worth it. The paprika, sage and rosemary meld with the earthy flavors of the sweet potato and tempeh to create a very satisfying mash.

Tempeh is a wonderful source of protein and can be very tasty when prepared well. Make sure you pre-cook it because it’s not fully cooked straight out of the package. If you are hesitant about tempeh, this is a perfect dish to try. It’s flavorful and although the tempeh doesn’t exactly disappear into the hash, it comes close.

Hannah from The Gypsy Roller Veggie Kitchen makes a hash with potatoes, kale and mushrooms that looks delicious. It can easily be veganized by leaving out the parmesan and eggs. I love seeing what other people are doing for breakfast and she has a few breakfast lentil bowls I would check out, too.

One thing to note, the tubers I call sweet potatoes are frequently labelled as yams in the U.S. So I am using the orange sweet potato/yams. The color works well in this dish.

Tempeh Sweet Potato Hash

8 oz pkg tempeh
a good amount of olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 small sweet potatoes (or yams), cut into bite size pieces, peel optional
1 tsp ground dried sage (double or triple this amount if using fresh)
1 tsp fresh minced rosemary
2 tsp paprika (I used a sweet kind)
2 pinches sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
handful of chopped parsley

1.  Steam the tempeh for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Crumble into small pieces when cool enough.

2.  Gently heat a medium-sized cast iron skillet on low medium heat. Add about 1 Tbsp oil. Add the onion when the oil is hot enough. Saute for a few minutes.

3.  While the onion is cooking, steam the sweet potatoes. Set aside.

4.  When the onion is starting to turn translucent, add the sage and stir. Move the onion to the sides of the pan. Add the tempeh in the middle of skillet with a little more oil. Tempeh will soak up quite a bit of oil. Let fry until some bits start looking golden. Add a few tsp of water if needed to keep the tempeh from sticking.

5.  Add 2 pinches of sea salt, rosemary and paprika. Saute for one minute more.

6.  Add the sweet potato to the skillet. Combine. Add a few Tbsp water and cover. Check every 5 minutes or so. I let this one cook for a while, adding a little water if it gets low. You can choose when it’s done to your liking. I wanted my sweet potatoes to be falling apart.

7.  Add black pepper and parsley near the end.

Things you can do the night before:

  • Steam and crumble the tempeh.
  • Chop and steam the sweet potatoes. You can also make a load of  baked sweet potatoes for dinner and use leftovers in this recipe.
  • Chop the onion.

If you are just joining us you can find the first challenge post here.

 

 

 

2 Responses

  1. Hannah Farrell

    Your hash looks very hearty – I like how it uses tempeh. I bet it tastes great with the yams!

    Thanks for linking to my recipes 🙂

    • sweetveg

      You’re welcome. Originally, I was going to leave the tempeh in chunks, but I am glad I crumbled it. I am really pleased with how it turned out. 🙂