Originally featured on the One Campaign
Ever since ONE members started submitting recipes to our Digital Sweet Potato Cookbook, I’ve been searching for that perfect dish to cook and write about for the ONE Blog. It had to be something simple, healthy and versatile. So, when I saw USAID Administrator Raj Shah’s family recipe for rainbow hash browns, I knew I struck gold.
The Japanese have long held the belief that eating dishes with at least five colors is the key to good health — so I was pleased to see that this dish had red peppers, orange sweet potatoes, yellow corn, green peas and spinach and purple onions. Sweet potatoes and spinach are particularly nutrient-dense, and it’s foods like these that need to be on the plates of the world’s poorest children to help them grow healthy and strong.
These rainbow hash browns are great because you can eat them for almost any occasion — under a fried egg for brunch, as a side dish for roasted chicken, as a topping for bruschetta. In my case, I tossed it with some whole grain spaghetti with a little extra olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. And it’s super easy to cook. I think the hardest part was cutting the sweet potatoes up into cubes.
The Shah family didn’t include specific measurements in their recipe, so I took the liberty of adding more of what I liked (corn and peas) and less of what I didn’t (red peppers… I’ve never been a big fan!). This is the kind of dish that can’t go wrong — so I hope you give it a try just like I did. Here’s a step-by-step:
Rainbow Hash Browns (or Rainbow Bruschetta)
Submitted by USAID Administrator Raj Shah
Dice sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion and garlic and sauté in pan (with olive oil) until sweet potatoes are slightly charred but tender.
Add frozen or fresh green peas and corn and sauté for a few more minutes. Add fresh chopped spinach or kale and sauté for a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or cilantro. Serve warm with eggs in lieu of traditional hash browns, or on toasted baguette for an alternative bruschetta, or simply as a hearty side dish to any tasty meal.
Now that sweet potatoes are on your mind, take the next step and SIGN OUR PETITION to end global child malnutrition around the world. Nutrient-dense foods like the sweet potato are a vital part of a child’s health, but far too many children don’t have access to these kinds of vegetables. So, let’s urge world leaders to make it happen:
