Breakfast, Gestational Diabetes friendly, Iron boosting, Recipes
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Sweet Potato Rösti with Eggs Florentine

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Rösti is a traditional Swiss dish made solely with grated potatoes, which are then pan fried to make a potato pancake. Somewhat similar to hash browns, but without the onion and less oily. In this dish, I’ve substituted white potato with (mostly) sweet potato, as the latter have a lot less starch and many more nutrients, but are also very tasty. Sweet potatoes are also a healthy alternative for diabetics. By having less starch, their glycemic index is a lot lower; meaning that their sugars are broken down more slowly, therefore not creating blood sugar fluctuations. They also contain more fibre, which will help keep you regular.

Eggs florentine are poached eggs served with wilted spinach. As you probably know, eggs are some of the most nutritionally complete foods available. High in protein, B vitamins, selenium and iodine, they will keep you going for longer, and provide you with many essential nutrients. By poaching the eggs and keeping the yolk intact, you reduce the their exposure to oxygen, which turns cholesterol into new substances called oxyterols; the ‘bad’ kind of cholesterol. Cooking the yolks also somewhat turns cholesterol into oxyterol, but you don’t have much choice on that one while pregnant, as eggs need to be thoroughly cooked. Keep it in mind though for when you’ve had your baby, so you can go back to lightly poached eggs.

Spinach is a great source of iron and folate, while containing lots of other vitamins and minerals, it makes this breakfast/brunch dish a very nutritious meal!

Some rösti recipes include eggs in their pancakes, but I prefer them without. This does make them a little fiddlier to turn and they can sometimes fall apart. If this happens, don’t worry, although they may not look so beautiful they will still taste just as good!

RECIPE   Serves 2   Total time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes
1 large white potato (or substitute with another sweet potato if diabetic)
2 tablespoons of oil (your choice: coconut, olive or ghee)
4 eggs
200g fresh/frozen spinach
Salt and pepper

Method

Peel and grate the potatoes and place in a sieve or clean tea towel with some sea salt. Squeeze as much excess water as you can out of the potatoes. Heat a large pan with your choice of oil on medium heat. Place a small handful of grated potatoes into the pan and press with a spatula to flatten them out into (somewhat) round pancakes. Repeat until you have done this with all the grated potato. Reduce the heat to medium- low, and cook for about 5 minutes. Press the potato patties regularly with a spatula to get them to stick together. Once you see the bottom beginning to brown, carefully place a spatula underneath and turn each pattie over, one at a time. You may want to add a little more oil at this stage if the pan is looking dry. Allow to cook for another 5 minutes. (If the patties have finished cooking before the poached eggs are ready, place in an oven proof dish and keep in a warm oven while the rest of the food is ready)

Meanwhile, place a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, and use a spoon to swirl the water around to create a whirlpool. Crack an egg into the centre of the whirlpool and allow to cook for a minute. You can then repeat the process and place another egg into the water. Cook for about 6 minutes to ensure the egg is well cooked. Remove and drain the eggs and set aside, while then repeating the process for the remaining 2 eggs.

Once all the eggs are cooked, discard the water and use the same pot (to save on washing up!) to quickly wilt the spinach. Place all of the spinach in the pot, on medium heat with a pinch of salt, and stir regularly. Once the spinach is wilted (about 1 minute), squeeze it lightly to remove the excess water. Place your potato rösti’s on a plate, top with the spinach and finally the poached eggs. Drizzle a little olive oil on top, season to taste, and serve.

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