Vegetarian Hash and Eggs

Yes, I went there.  Vegetarian.  I don't do it often, but when I do, you can be sure it will be delicious.  Okay, maybe a bit dramatic, but honestly, this dish is fantastic.  Not only is this dish vegetarian AND primal-friendly, but it is made with healthy roots as well.

Some of you may have just stuck up your nose at that last statement, who eats roots for breakfast you say?  Or who eats roots at all?  Well, I guess we do!  It was a long, hard struggle but we are finally coming around to the idea of roots in our meals.  It's not something we added to our repertoire by choice, in fact they were kind of forced on us by chance.

This past summer Eric joined a food share through his company.  We split with a co-worker, and joyously spent the summer consuming fresh, organic greens and veggies each week.  But as the days became shorter the dreaded roots began to appear.  Parsnips, rutabaga, unidentified turnips, even the alien kohlrabi.  At least the beets were nice to look at. Let's just say my first attempts at cooking these tough and often mysterious dirt-dwelling friends resulted in many frustrating nights.  It got to the point where we started to avoid the roots in our fridge in the hopes that a month or two alone would turn them into something gross enough to warrant throwing out.

Turns out roots are hardier than even I imagined, so this past weekend I finally rolled up my sleeves and gave those tubers one last try, only this time they weren't for dinner.  I reasoned if there was one way to do them right it would be smothered in delicious egg yolk.  Long had my eggs over easy been wasted, never to see buttered bread again.  Finally (I reasoned with myself) I would have something to soak up my favorite part of the meal... it couldn't be that bad, right?

And alas!  From much turmoil and suffering a savior was born;

Vegetarian Hash and Eggs

• 1 medium beet (3/4 cup)
• 1 or 2 small turnips (3/4 cup)
• 1 small sweet yellow onion (1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp rosemary, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (we like a lot)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup feta
• 4 eggs (or 5 if you have a hungry Eric)

Preheat oven to 400.  Remove skin from beets and turnips, peel carefully!  Chop beets, turnips, and onion into smaller than bite-sized pieces and place in mixing bowl.  Add olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper to bowl and mix all ingredients by hand (or with a spoon).  Spread out on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes mix with a spoon and evenly spread the garlic on top.  Roast for another 10-15 minutes depending on how crispy you like the roots.  At this point you should turn your skillet on medium heat, spray with some olive oil, and add the eggs.  Cook to your liking, flipping them halfway through.

When the roots are done (about the same time as the eggs), portion out finished hash onto plates, sprinkle feta on top, and carefully top with your eggs.   If you want to be true primal just don't add the feta. Remember to break the yolk and eat everything together!

Okay, getting hungry just looking at it...

modified from http://www.primal-palate.com