SWEET POTATO & CARAMELIZED ONION HASH

This week has been bringing on the nostalgia in big, hard waves. I’m currently guest posting some of my favorite photos on an Instagram account called Cause Beautiful and telling the story of how I fell in love with food photography. Which takes me right back to this time last year. It’s when Morgan & I truly became good friends in real life, allies in school and partners in the kitchen. She pushed me to keep doing my undergrad thesis project on food storytelling during moments when I stopped wanting to justify it. To maintain our sanity while finishing college, we made brunch basically every weekend we could and were always trying to find ways to feed people. (And drink champagne before noon too.)

The very first time we hosted a big brunch together we made blueberry cinnamon rolls and this sweet potato hash recipe. I remember wearing aprons and socks around Morgan’s tiny kitchen, rolling dough, chopping sweet potatoes, making French press coffee and listening to John Mayer hours before our guests were set to arrive. Early Saturday mornings in the kitchen were where we planted the seeds for this blog long before we knew it would exist. Together we shared our stories, dreams and cooked for people that we love. (Only now I wish we still lived in the same town and our Saturdays weren’t spent shooting recipes over 2,000 miles apart.)

I’m constantly grateful for how something as simple as blueberries & sweet potatoes brought us together and built not only a great friendship, but also something so much bigger that we can share with you all. I wish we could invite everyone reading this to brunch, but I’ll settle for being able to share one of our first recipes. (On our blog that I never imagined existing when we served it this time last year!) Sweet potatoes in the morning are a real treat and caramelized onions are almost like a drug — I think you all will like this one!

Also, because I don’t think we can ever say it enough. If you have a recipe that makes you feel nostalgic, is the best food you’ve ever tasted, is your secret recipe, reminds you of home, or makes you feel anything lovely at all — it probably has a story we would love to hear. We love hearing from you, trying new recipes, and most of all telling stories about good food. Share, share, share — we’ll be listening!

Move an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Melt the butter in a cast-iron over medium-high heat. When it foams up, add the onions and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. (Don't worry if they are crowded in the pan, they'll cook down!) Lower the heat slightly and cook the onions, stirring occasionally, and lowering the heat if they seem to be burning. Cook the onions until they are dark brown, about 20-30 minutes.
While the onions are caramelizing, toss the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, paprika, a generous amount of pepper, and the minced rosemary or oregano. When the caramelized onions are done, stir them into the sweet potatoes.
Spread the mixture in one later on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 25-40 minutes, stirring ever 10 to 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft and browned.
To serve, heat the oven to 425. Spread a relatively tiny layer of sweet potato hash in a baking dish — such as a cast iron skillet, individual ramekins, or a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Make small wells in the sweet potatoes and crack in the eggs. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake for 10-20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are hot and the eggs are baked to your taste! (Test eggs by poking them with a fork to check the firmness/doneness of the whites to make sure it isn't undercooked.)
Serve hot — add parmesan cheese on top if you like!