The possibilities and inspirations behind the salads I make are near endless. I get so much pleasure from composing a rainbow plate of salad from seemingly random combinations of ingredients. I have a salad almost everyday for lunch and am always bringing out containers of grated carrots and beets, deeply green leaves, pomegranate seeds, pickled shallots, pitted Castelvetrano and Niçoises olives, leftover roasted vegetables from the night before, toasted nuts and seeds, etc. to assemble an impromptu salad at the kitchen table where I eat my lunch at work. Perhaps it’s a placebo effect, but when I eat salads regularly I feel like I’m genuinely doing something nice for my body. It’s such a good feeling to experience a revitalized sensation of lightness after eating a gigantic meal of plants and other nutritious ingredients in their most honest state. Lately I have been combining my two favourite meals, breakfast and a big salad, into a sort of hybrid series of recipes. These yam hash browns couldn’t be simpler to make and can easily be adjusted in terms of quantity depending on the number of people you’re cooking for.

yam hash browns and eggs breakfast on salad greens:

1 yam, washed and cut into small pieces (leave the peel on)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. dried dill

Kosher salt to taste

2 cups of mixed salad greens, my favourite combination right now is spinach, iceberg lettuce, and Italian flat-leaf parsley

5 or so cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 lemon, juiced

Drizzle of olive oil

Freshly cracked black pepper

1-2 eggs, either poached, soft-boiled, or fried

*Lately when I make this I have been using some smoked Maldon sea salt as a finishing touch, this adds a wonderful subtle flavour reminiscent of the bacon that so often accompanies eggs.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the yam on a small baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, stirring to coat. Add the chili powder, dill, and salt and stir once again until evenly distributed. Bake for 45 minutes or until browned and crispy on the outside.

2. In a large bowl toss together the salad greens, lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, and a small pinch of salt. Arrange on a large plate, adding the halved tomatoes to the salad in a small mound.

3. Pile the baked yam hash browns beside the tomatoes and cover with an egg (or two) before finishing with smoked sea salt if you have it, although kosher salt would do just fine.

I’m going to see Slowdive in November and I am !!so!! excited about it (especially because I just found out that Low are going to be the openers! As a result I’m in full shoegaze British invasion mode. Lush reminds me of some of My Bloody Valentine’s  more obvious pop songs and are correspondingly lovely and ethereal.

Lush – For Love