Eggs are one of my favorite foods, likely the animal product most difficult for me to give up, were I to go vegan.
This morning, we had one of our favorite breakfasts, a poached egg perched atop a patty of Indian-spiced sweet potatoes, a thin slice of grilled ham, and topped with a sweet and smoky hot sauce.
This dish evolved over time. I’m prone to put an egg on many leftovers, transforming something that might be a bit dull into a rich and enticing treat: Soups and vegetable dishes of any sort are likely candidates.
The sweet potatoes have their own story. Many years ago, I encountered the cookbooks of Suvir Saran, whose recipes incorporate the flavors of his native India into his New York home and restaurants. This dish started its life as a butternut squash dish, delicious in its own right. http://nymag.com/listings/recipe/sweet-and-sour-butternut/ Reasoning that if it worked with butternut squash, it would also work with sweet potatoes, I gave it a try and a new house staple was born. We make big batches, and keep leftovers in the freezer, ready when we are.
The sweet potatoes are formed into patties, browned in a pan, and then layered with a poached egg and slice of ham if desired. The final topping is some hot sauce. Our favorite is a local product, YinYang, http://www.yinyanghotsauce.com, which has a mix of sweet fruitiness and the heat and smoke of chiles. A little goes a long way, and it complements and unites the flavors of each component.
This small stack has such a mix of flavors and textures: sweet, salty, spicy, smoky, chewy, smooth, crusty. A sensory delight, and healthy breakfast as well, with protein, fats and complex carbs in a good balance. What’s not to like?
Curious Steph 
That sounds so yummy!
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I’m vegetarian (since ’73) and do eat eggs and some milk products. Many vegetarians do not get enough DHA. It’s a real problem that most are not aware of! Most people cannot synthesize DHA from the ALA that is in nuts. DHA is critical to brain health. I take algal DHA supplements and fish oil supplements too (for the DHA). The algal supplements just do not help my arthritis like the fish oil supplements do.
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Yes, its interesting how different bodies respond to different diets. One of my nieces has been vegan for many years, and is very healthy. Her sister needed to add back in milk and dairy in order for her body to work well. One size fits all fits no one well!
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One other thing:
I was a vegan for around 3 years. Skin began peeling off of my upper legs and thigh area, even though i was eating a nice varied diet. When i started eating eggs and using milk products again (with the oil supplements) my skin was fine and no longer raw!
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Looks delicious!! I am an egg fan too!
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Going to the kitchen right now……..
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enjoy!
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I like how you saw something and innovated it with something you liked, sweet potatoes and the touch of heat. That’s how the best recipes are born, I think.
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Thanks! Yes, one of the aspects of cooking that I really enjoy is being able to experiment with things. Sometimes adjusting to my own taste preferences, sometimes accommodating to the ingredients already in the kitchen. My general approach with a new recipe is to make it as written the first time, unless I can see something that obviously doesn’t work for me, and then begin the variations. Cooking when I’ve a little time and space is fun.
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I do the same thing but my substitutions is usually more of the “oops, I don’t have that so what can I put in instead” variety. Your changes are a lot smarter! thinking of how things combine.
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