Chorizo and Sweet Potatoes

I know that it’s summer, and typically roasted sweet potatoes are not a summer dish.  However, we had some pretty ferocious thunderstorms in Northeast Ohio this afternoon, and I wanted food that was warm and comforting – roasted veggies definitely fit the bill!

I knew I had some chorizo in the fridge, so on the way home from work I picked up some cipollini onions and sweet potatoes.  Plus, I wanted to try my sunny-side up egg technique again!

The avocado got thrown in because it needed to be used before it got overripe – I hate to waste them!  I sliced it, added some lime and a little salt, and it was actually a nice touch.

Now that I look at the picture, all of this stuff would probably be good as filling in a breakfast burrito!  Hmmmm….I do have leftovers, so maybe I’ll try it tomorrow.

Only one problem:  Now that I’ve eaten, I think I need a nap!

Chorizo and Roasted Sweet Potatoes   (makes 2 large servings with some leftovers)

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 lb cipollini onions, peeled
• 5 – 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 lb chorizo
• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado, sliced (add some lime juice to keep it from browning)
• olive oil, salt, pepper
• butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the sweet potatoes, onions and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pour mixture into a casserole dish and bake for about 1 hour.

When the veggies are almost done, remove the chorizo from it’s casing and brown in a large skillet over medium high heat.  When the chorizo is cooked through, remove the veggies from the oven and add to the skillet.  Toss the chorizo and veggies together to mix them and get everything coated in the oil from the chorizo.  Remove everything from the skillet.  (At this point, I served myself a hearty helping.)

(I used the same skillet to fry the eggs – it’s a cast iron skillet, so I just turned off the burner and wiped down the pan with a paper towel.)  Add a bit of butter to the skillet and turn the heat back on to medium high.  Add both eggs, salt and pepper.  Cook the eggs to the desired degree of doneness.  (I went for sunny-side up because I wanted to try and get a perfect runny yolk.)

When the eggs are done, place an egg on top of the chorizo and sweet potato mixture.  Serve with half an avocado and dig in!

While We Wait..

Our first Westlake CSA pick-up is this week on June 9.  I can hardly wait!!  In the meantime, my Mom and I visited the West Side Market (www.westsidemarket.org) on Friday in order to get a jump on summer produce. We bought brussels sprouts, asparagus, baby Yukon Gold potatoes, corn on the cob, and chicken sausage. I bought the produce from Brothers Produce and The Basketeria and the chicken sausage from Dionne’s Poultry.

The end resulted in oven roasted sprouts, asparagus, and potatoes; boiled corn on the cob; and steamed chicken sausage. Here’s a picture:

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Malt Vinegar and Sea Salt
Adapted from Everyday Foods Magazine

2 lbs small round potatoes
Olive oil
sea salt
Malt Vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Boil potatoes in medium pot until soft, about 20 mins. Salt the water if desired. Drain potatoes.
Brush olive oil on the bottom of a ridged baking pan.
Place potatoes one at a time between the folds of a clean dishtowel and gently smash. This is the fun part! Potatoes should stay in one piece but the skins will break. Place potatoes on prepared baking sheet.
Brush each potato with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
Bake for about 35 minutes, turning once, until edges are brown and crispy.
Drizzle with malt vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Serve immediately.

While the potatoes were cooking, I also cleaned the brussels sprouts and asparagus, drizzled with olive oil and baked them on the same sheet as the potatoes. I first put the sprouts on the pan and cooked for about 15 minutes, stirring occastionally. I took them out of the oven and put the asparagus in their place, for about 10 minutes. Everything turned out perfectly!

Here’s a pic of Mom and Chris enjoying dinner on our patio: