Brussels Sprout and Sweet Potato Hash and a New-to-Me Veggie

Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash - Eat Spin Run Repeat

Hi friends!

Before I get into today’s foodie chat, I just wanted to say thank you so, so much for all of your lovely comments and emails about Monday’s goal check-in.  As I said in that post, life can be rough sometimes but it helps so much when you’re surrounded by awesome people and thank YOU for being some of those people! I also loved reading about what you guys are working towards this month and can’t wait to hear how you get on.

Switching gears, it’s time for a whole lotta food chat. You’re lucking out today with not just one, but two recipes, so I hope you’re hungry!

1. Recipe of the Week. Although I’m a big fan of smoothies, our Canadian temperatures are making them more difficult to drink without a sweater, a blanket, and a hot cup of tea in the other hand. While I’ll still do this regularly throughout the winter months, savoury breakfasts are quickly becoming the name of the game over here.

Ingredients for Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash - Eat Spin Run Repeat

Ever since I found out about my anemia last year, I’ve been making more of an effort to cook meals in my cast iron skillet. A daily iron supplement is still a must, but cooking in cast iron can also boost the iron content of the foods we eat. While the extent depends a lot depending on the type of food and the age of the skillet used, I like to think that I’m helping my situation by doing so.

brussels sprouts and rosemary

sweet potatoes

I know some of you are probably eyeing up those Brussels sprouts and thinking “woooooahhhhhhhh not on MY breakfast table” but don’t quit on me just yet. I swear, this Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash might change your mind. You’ll quickly sautee them on the stove with some sweet potato and fresh herbs, and after the eggs are cracked on top (my favourite part of making this recipe because I’m going through a huge egg craze) all you need to do is put the skillet in the oven for 10 minutes and let it do its thing.

Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash - Eat Spin Run Repeat

If you’d like a little pro tip, here it is: When things are looking like they’re just about ready in the oven, switch over to the broil setting for 1-2 minutes. This will make the edges of the sweet potato and sprouts gloriously crispy, and just might have you dishing up another serving for dinner.

Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash - Eat Spin Run Repeat

I need to buy a bigger skillet.

Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash - Eat Spin Run Repeat

Click over to Greatist for the recipe.

Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash - Eat Spin Run Repeat

[Tweet “Savoury breakfast for the win: Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash #recipe”]

2. A new veggie: The watermelon radish. 

Ever seen one of these guys before?

watermelon radish

Up until last weekend, I’d only ever been able to find watermelon radishes in some of the restaurants I like to visit. They look more like a turnip if you ask me, but on the inside, they’re a gorgeous vibrant shade of pink. You guys know I’m a sucker for pink things.

watermelon radish

This particular watermelon radish was procured from Goodness Me, a natural food market that I’m really excited to tell you more about over the coming weeks. They’ve got a huge array of organic produce, much of which is locally sourced. I’m a watermelon fiend, and thought it was only appropriate that I try to track down a radish with watermelon in its name. I’d been looking for all summer but without any luck, so when I saw them just sitting there in the produce section, it was pretty much a done deal.

watermelon radish

So why are they called watermelon radishes? Well, they’re in the same veggie family (the Brassicas) as arugula, Daikon, broccoli and turnips, but obviously this is the stunning sister in the bunch. The outside tends to be either green, beige, or a blend of the two, and just inside the skin, the flesh is bright white. As you move closer into the middle, it’s a lovely vibrant pink, just like a watermelon. Just like other radishes, they’re full of fiber, vitamin C, folate, and potassium.

watermelon radish

I’ve only ever had watermelon radish in the form of a garnish on a salad, so I wanted to use it in a recipe where it played a bigger role. Knowing that radishes pair well with apples, I came up with a really delicious and simple recipe for Baked Salmon with Apple-Radish Slaw. While the salmon cooked in the oven, I used my mandolin to cut some carrots, celery, a Honeycrisp apple (my fave), and the peeled watermelon radish into thin strips. If you read last Wednesday’s post about my kitchen injuries and happened to be wondering, the answer is yes, I did use the mandolin’s safety handle.

Baked Salmon with Apple-Radish Slaw - Eat Spin Run Repeat

I knew the apple would add some sweetness to the mix and didn’t want  to overpower the flavour of the radish, so the dressing was kept simple – just apple cider vinegar with a little raw honey. The result was one of the most delicious salads/slaws to come out of my kitchen in weeks, and I’m already wishing I’d bought a few more radishes in order to make a bigger batch.

Baked Salmon with Apple-Radish Slaw - Eat Spin Run Repeat

Taste-wise, the watermelon radish was quite different from your standard red-on-the-outside, white-on-the-inside radish. It wasn’t very peppery at all, and reminded me more of daikon, which is a Chinese radish in the same family. It had a really mild taste and a nice crunch, and if I may say so myself, the apple pairing was spot on. (You can never go wrong with Honeycrisp, right?)

Baked Salmon with Apple-Radish Slaw - Eat Spin Run Repeat

As I said, the recipe is really easy to throw together and because all the veggies are firm, I’m pretty sure it would keep well in the fridge for a few days. If you’d like to give it a go, you’ll find and print the recipe here.

Now I’m curious to hear…

  • Have you ever tried a watermelon radish before? What sort of recipe was it used in?
  • What are you eating for breakfast these days? Do you have a preference between sweet and savoury?

Lastly, I just wanted to mention that you’ll really want to make sure you come back on Friday because I’ve got an awesome giveaway to announce and you won’t want to miss it! See you then! 🙂

22 thoughts on “Brussels Sprout and Sweet Potato Hash and a New-to-Me Veggie

  1. That slaw looks soooo good! I’ve never tried watermelon radish before, it’s so pretty!

    Still eating toast, a smoothie or overnight oats for breakfast, but I’m sure I’ll switch over to hot oats soon. My thermostat is set a bit high at the moment so I’m not cold in the mornings yet.

    I’m also excited for you to tell us about Goodness Me – there’s a new one opening up 30 SECONDS from my house in Guelph! As well as an LCBO, a Starbucks, a Running Works, and a bakery. I’m never moving.

    1. That’s so exciting, Sarah!! The Waterloo one isn’t due to open until early 2015 but the online store is coming very very soon and I will have more deets about it shortly. With Goodness Me and Running Works, what else does one really need? 😉 Well, maybe a Lululemon.. I’m still shocked that our nearest one is Oakville!

  2. Okay I’ve only ever liked Brussels sprouts once (they used to have this crazy amazing dish on the menu that was gone when we went…#sadface). I might have to give this hash a try though (minus the egg…ha). I think I might like the Brussels/sweet potato combination!!!

    I’ve been trying to hang onto smoothies but I think hot oats are going to be the norm pretty soon!! Today I just had a bowl of Love Grown Power O’s though…was in a rush!!

    1. I think you’ll like it, and if you come over in the next little while, I will gladly make this for you! And Power O’s – aren’t they awesome?! I love the plain ones sprinkled with cinnamon and mixed with diced apples. My boxes are disappearing fast!

  3. Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes & eggs – together – BAM! Oh happy day! I will be trying this recipe very soon. Brilliant…thanks for sharing. 🙂

  4. Oh wow I’m not sure I could do brussels sprouts in the morning. I’m not a big savory breakfast person. I only tried brussels sprouts for the first time a few years ago! Current breakfast obsession is pumpkin pancakes.
    I’ve never even heard of watermelon radish. I re-tried radishes for the first time in 25 years last weekend, made my tongue itch. Turns out 7 year old me might have known what she was talking about!

    1. I have no complaints about pumpkin pancakes! As for the radishes, you’re not the first person who’s told me that they’ve caused itching. These ones are really mild (as in, I didn’t sense any of the peppery taste you’d get in a normal radish) but depending on how bad the itching was, maybe it’s best not to chance it! 🙂

  5. Oh my dear lord, that recipe looks amazing! I am still stuck on the smoothie train, but I may have to adjust my habit to something a little warmer and heartier for winter.

  6. WOW! I am heading out the door on the hunt for those radishes! What a great recipe! I am adding it to my meal prep for next week.
    I am a lover for savory breakfast ideas and I don’t mind the brussel sprouts! So double win for me today! 😉

    1. I hope you can track some down, Elsie! I don’t know if it’s just me but it seems they’re quite hard to find here in Ontario – well, at least in the places I’ve been looking. Let me know how you get on with this recipe next week!

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