AUTUMN HASH

FROM MELISSA JOULWAN OF WELL FED

Nothing says autumn like apples, sweet potatoes, and cinnamon. With this recipe, you can enjoy the crisp flavors of fall any time of year. It’s a sweet-savory-chewy-crunchy-hot-cold dish that tastes great at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Feeling creative? You can fancy it up with a fried egg on top—or replace the apples and pecans with pears and almonds, or swap out the sweet potato for butternut squash.

SERVES 4

PREP: 15 minutes COOK: 15 minutes TOTAL: 30 minutes

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, Clarified Butter (see recipe), or ghee
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch dice
• ½ sweet onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of paprika
• 2 cups diced cooked sweet potatoes (see Tip)
• 1 portion Classic Pork Meatballs (see recipe; about 28 meatballs), quartered
• 4 green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup raw pecans, toasted (see Tip) and roughly chopped
• 1 bag (about 5 ounces) baby spinach

Heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the apple, sweet onion, and salt and cook, stirring, until the apple and onion are golden and tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and paprika.

Push the apple mixture to the side of the skillet and add the remaining 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Heat for 1 minute, then add the spice mixture, stirring it into the fat. When the spices are fragrant, after about 30 seconds, add the sweet potatoes and meatballs. Stir to combine all the ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown spots begin to appear on the sweet potatoes and the meatballs are heated through, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the green onions and pecans and toss to combine. Divide the spinach among four shallow bowls. Top the spinach with the hash (the heat from the hash will wilt the spinach).

TIPS Be sure the sweet potatoes are cooked through but still firm enough to hold their shape without turning to mush. If you don’t have leftovers, bake 2 medium sweet potatoes in a preheated 375°F oven for 40 or 45 minutes, until they can be pierced with a fork but are still slightly firm. Let cool completely before peeling and dicing.