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By Root 874 0

Something bright orange? Well, this dish has you covered. The apples brighten everything up and give the sweet potatoes an air of mystery. In the autumn months this makes such a flavorful and simple base for myriad stews, or just serve with baked tofu or tempeh and greens. And it’s virtually fat free! I’m the queen of hating to peel things, but it really makes everything so much creamier and yummier. It’s nice to have uninterrupted mushiness, so take the trouble to peel your apples and sweet potatoes here.

1 pound apples (2 average-size), peeled and cut into

½-inch chunks

2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into

½-inch chunks

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon agave (optional; see note)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger (see tip)

Preheat a 4-quart pot over low heat. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray, then add the apples, sweet potatoes, water, and salt. Cover the pot and sweat the apples and sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes, stirring often. What this means is just to cook them slowly and let them steam. You want to coax the moisture out of them, but if you set the flame too high they’ll burn and cook unevenly.

NOTE

I love to use sweet red apples in this. Fuji, McIntosh, or Rome would be perfect. Depending on how sweet your apples are, you may need even less agave than listed, or perhaps even no agave at all! Taste before adding.

After 20 minutes, you can turn up the heat just a bit. Add a little more water ifneeded. Cover and cook for 20 more minutes, paying close attention so that they don’t burn, and stirring often. When they’re very tender, they’re done. Mash with a potato masher. Add the agave, cinnamon, and ginger, and mash some more. Taste for salt and seasoning. Serve warm.

TIPS

• Ginger can be daunting, navigating all those curves and nubs. So instead of letting the thought of ginger dissuade you from cooking dinner, try this. The second you get home from grocery shopping, or at least as soon as your ice cream is in the freezer, peel the ginger with a spoon. Take a teaspoon and scrape its side, face down, against the ginger skin. The skin peels right off and the spoon breezes over the nubby curves. If there is too much of a nub I just slice it off and sacrifice it or use it for tea.

• Once peeled, chop the ginger into manageable pieces, put it in a plastic bag, and freeze. For this dish, you don’t even need to let it thaw because frozen ginger grates perfectly in this recipe. If you do want the ginger thawed, let it sit in the fridge all day. If not, briefly run a piece under hot water. Then proceed as usual. It really saves a lot of time!

Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash

SERVES 4 • ACTIVE TIME: 30 MINUTES • TOTALTIME: 45 MINUTES

PER SERVING

(¼ RECIPE):

Calories: 150

Calories from fat: 25

Total fat: 2.5 g

Saturated fat: 0 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Fiber: 4 g

Protein: 5 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 600 mg

Vitamin A: 8%

Vitamin C: 100%

Calcium: 6%

Iron: 10%

The perfect breakfast for vegan lumberjacks! Making hash traditionally involves chopping up a bunch of stuff you have hanging out around the house and pan-frying it until crispy. One day I had a handful of Brussels sprouts, so they were the morning’s hash victim, and I loved it so much I put the recipe into permanent rotation. They’re flavored with thyme and lemon, my favorite morning blend. I call for Yukon Golds here, but any thin-skinned potato will do. Serve with scrambled tofu or make it a Benedict, with a sliced portobello on top and some cheezy sauce. They’d also be none too bad with some Silky Chickpea Gravy (page 56).

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ pound Brussels sprouts, quartered lengthwise

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 small onion, diced small

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried thyme

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)

Preheat a large, heavy pan, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Saute the potatoes and sprouts in 1 teaspoon of the oil, using nonstick