I have so much to tell you about this breakfast that I don’t even know where to start.
How about not calling it breakfast? Because I ate it for lunch. And I also think it makes an appropriate dinner.
While perusing the menu at Square Cafe this past weekend, I was incredibly drawn to the white bean hash. I couldn’t bring myself to order it; the lure of buttery, toasted ciabatta, thick, crispy bacon and melted gruyere pulled me in. So I went with the breakfast sandwich. But the hash continued to haunt me throughout my meal and even the rest of the day. I couldn’t stop talking about it.
I had to find some way to combine said menu ingredients and get this in my life as soon as possible.
This was my first time using leeks! I was a leek virgin.
Now I’m a leek convert.
I mean… wouldn’t you be if you had caramelized them in bacon grease?
Since I never even laid eyes on the dish, all I had going for me was my superior memory – the memory that gets Mr. How Sweet in trouble approximately six times a month. I remember everything.
I knew the hash was full of leeks, pancetta and white beans. Sure sounded like a winning combination to me. But that’s all I knew.
Words can’t even describe. To my cast iron skillet: marry me.
After tossing the beans into the skillet, I used a few twists and turns with a wooden spatula to mash some beans but left most of them whole. I couldn’t have asked for a better texture.
And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I threw some buttery eggs up on top.
Creamy beans, sweet, caramelized onions, crunchy, salty bacon and perfect eggs. I only have one question for you…
Why are you still reading this? You need to get in your kitchen and make it… stat.
White Bean Hash
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon or 1/2 cup chopped pancetta
- 2 leeks, trimmed, sliced and cleaned
- 1 15- ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 eggs, or however many you want
Instructions
- Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the bacon or pancetta and cook until browned. Remove the bacon, leaving the grease in the pan and drain on a paper towel. Add the sliced, cleaned leeks (make sure they are dry) to the bacon grease and saute until caramelized, about 6-8 minutes. At this point you can add more butter/olive oil if needed – I added a tiny bit of bacon grease I had stored in the fridge.
- Add beans and bacon back into the skillet. Stir for about a minute. At this point you can either fry some eggs in a separate skillet, or push the hash to the sides and fry the eggs in the middle. Make sure the beans, leeks and bacon are thoroughly mixed.
- Serve the hash with the eggs on top.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
I really don’t think I’ll be eating anything else for dinner this week. I’m not kidding.