Isabella hash

One of my favorite Friday night activities is to stop at BaBa Louie's for dinner in Great Barrington on the way to my family's house in the Berkshires. They serve incredible salads and pizza -- just the sort of thing I'm often craving on a Friday night after a drive. The last time we were there, Peter and I tried the Isabella Pizzarella with sweet potatoes, garlic, fennel, and a bit of balsamic vinegar.

I found myself with all of these incredients at home last night, and decided to turn it into a hash, with some baby bella mushrooms added in for good measure.

Isabella-inspired hash:

You will need: a giant sweet potato, a medium sized fennel 

bulb, six or seven baby bella mushrooms, two large cloves of garlic, chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Wash and peel apart the layers of your fennel bulb. Cut into bite-sized half rounds and saute with garlic in a splash of olive oil and a pat of butter until soft, about 6 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Add washed, peeled, and cubed sweet potatoes to the pan with a bit more olive oil and butter. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes, and then remove from pan. Quickly saute mushrooms in butter. Add fennel, garlic, and sweet potatoes back into the pan, and and add a good swirl of chicken stock to the mixture. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, and finish with a couple good shakes of balsamic vinegar.  Left-overs are delicious served with eggs the next day.