Here at the Wolf Cove Inn in Poland, Maine, we like to think all our Maine comfort breakfasts are special. However, this savory basted eggs and sweet potato breakfast recipe stands out a bit. This particular dish made it to the “Elite Eight” round of the BedAndBreakfast.com “2017 Best B&B Breakfast Tournament.” We felt pretty good about that given the tournament started with hundreds of delicious recipes. It is certainly a guest and staff favorite here at the Inn. If you’d like to try our sweet potato breakfast recipe first hand on your romantic getaway in Maine, please come and visit.
Sweet Potato Breakfast Recipe
This recipe has evolved over the years. It started with a recipe we found in Dana Moos’ cookbook The Art Of Breakfast. The dish consisted of a Caramelized Shallot And Poblano Pepper Cream Sauce over Sweet Potato Hash Brown and baby spinach. We began serving this in the summer of 2014, our first season running the Inn.
In 2015, we began making adjustments to the dish. We changed the greens to a blend of spinach and arugula. Early in 2016, we added the southwest vinaigrette to the greens. In addition, we wanted to lighten things up. So we replaced the cream sauce with a charred corn, red pepper and black bean salsa. In late 2016, we eliminated the wheat flour from the hash brown and replaced it with rice flour instead. Gluten-free folks may now enjoy the dish. This past winter of 2017, we put the latest spin on the salsa topping. We may continue to evolve the recipe, but we think we are approaching perfection. Or so our guests tell us!
We hope you enjoy this sweet potato breakfast recipe as much as we do.
Ingredients (serves 12)
- 24 large eggs
- Butter
- Water
- 3 to 4 oz baby spinach
- 3 to 4 oz arugula
Black Bean, Roasted Corn and Pepper Salsa
- 1/2 red pepper, small dice (size of corn kernel)
- 1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen
- 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
Southwest Dressing
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic,
- minced 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
Sweet Potato Hash Browns
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup rice flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
Instructions
Prepare Salsa
Heat medium fry pan over high heat until very hot. Add diced red pepper and corn. Sear without stirring until beginning to char. Stir once and let char a bit more. Remove from heat and add to a bowl. Add remaining salsa ingredients to the bowl. Stir until well mixed. Adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside. Prepare up to a day ahead or two ahead if desired.
Prepare Southwest Dressing
Place all ingredients for dressing in a blender. Puree until very smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Pour 1/2 of dressing into a squeeze bottle. Set aside. Freeze or refrigerate other 1/2 of dressing for future use. Prepare up to a day or two ahead if desired.
Prepare Sweet Potato Hash Brown
Preheat warming oven to 200 degrees.
In a food processor with a medium shredding disc, process sweet potatoes and onion. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and curry powder to potato and onion mixture. Mix thoroughly by hand.
Heat oil over medium heat in a large (preferably cast iron) fry pan until hot. Work in batches. Take ~1/3 cup of mixture and form into a patty, about 3 inches in diameter and gently place in hot oil. We use a 3 inch cookie disk to help keep the shape. Gently add 3 or 4 more to pan. Fry 3 to 4 minutes until golden, using care to not burn. Gently flip and fry another 2-3 minutes. Remove to a grate on a cookie sheet and place in warming oven. Prepare remaining hash brown patties and place in warming oven. The following assembly instructions are for a single serving. We don’t have fixed seating times, so we prepare this on demand when guests arrive for breakfast.
Note 1: Regular flour works well for the recipe. However, we use rice flour so that gluten free guests may enjoy the dish.
Note 2: Cool and freeze unused patties for future use. Thaw and reheat in oven on a grate over a cookie sheet.
Prepare Basted Eggs
Note: Many guests ask “what is a basted egg?” It’s the best of both worlds – a fried egg on the bottom and a poached egg on top. Use any egg prep method (fried, poached, scrambled) for this. However we prefer the basted method.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon butter in an omelet pan over medium heat until melted and slightly bubbly. Break two eggs into a ramekin or similar small bowl, then gently pour into heated omelet pan. Wait until the egg whites begin to solidify around the edges and base. Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water to the pan. Immediately cover with a clear lid. The water creates a steam that poaches the top of the egg while the bottom fries. For runny yolks, cook until the yolk just hazes over and all the egg whites around the yolk are cooked, about 2-3 minutes total. Cook covered 30 seconds longer for medium and 90 seconds or so longer for fully cooked yolks.
Plating
Grab a small handful of arugula and small handful of baby spinach and place together in a mixing bowl. Add 1-2 teaspoons of dressing and mix thoroughly. Greens should be moist, but not dripping with the dressing. Plate the greens. Top the greens with one hash brown. Add the basted eggs over the hash brown. Top the eggs with one to two tablespoons of salsa. Serve hot.
Try This Dish First Hand
Rather not make this yourself? We’ll be happy to make this sweet potato breakfast recipe for you! Visit us here on the beautiful shores of Tripp Lake in Poland, Maine and we’ll treat to not only to this dish, but many other delicious dishes as well. Furthermore you’ll love the coffee we serve from our friends up the road at Carrabassett Coffee Company in Kingfield, Maine.
Want to see more of what you might enjoy for breakfast? The check out the Wolf Cove Inn Recipe Collection.
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