Brunch is the most poorly constructed meal of the day. Too close to lunch to warrant eating breakfast, but far enough into the day to feel like your stomach has started to digest itself. And, of course, 99.99999999 percent of the time, you're hungover. The mere act of dressing, waiting in line for an hour, and having zero caffeine in your system is nothing short of a miracle. It's also totally not worth those poached eggs that have crumbly yolks that don't even look good on Instagram.
Here is a FOUR INGREDIENT recipe that has a dish count of two pans, one knife, a bowl, and two plates. Recipe serves two people — you, and your roommate/the guy that just won't leave.
What you need:
2 large sweet potatoes cut into 1.5-inch cubes
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 eggs
1 bunch of cilantro (if you hate cilantro, be the winner of laziness and forgo this ingredient all together or use parsley, basil, etc.)
What you need to do:
The first step is up to you, but it is highly recommended to roast your sweet potatoes in advance. Roasting sweet potatoes doesn't take much time in the grand scheme of things, but 40 minutes is an eternity when everyone's Instagramming their ricotta pancakes. Roasted sweet potatoes keep for about a week in the fridge.
The next time you're watching a Real Housewives marathon, or, a binge session of House of Cards, drop those sweet potatoes onto a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pop into a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Set your timer for 40 minutes and when done, check to make sure they are soft all the way through. Overachiever's note: if you like your sweet potatoes cooked golden and not crispy on one side, you will have to turn them halfway through. That means getting up during the commercial break or pausing Netflix.
Once your potatoes are safely roasted and stored in your refrigerator, wait for the night when you get obliterated. Upon waking, heat up a non-stick frying pan on medium/low heat, and while this is warming up, roughly chop your cilantro and set aside.
Your pan should be hot by now, so drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, tilting it so that the surface is fully coated. Crack two eggs into the pan and while these are sizzling throw the cilantro into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Grab a fork/pen/whatever is near your hand and whisk together so that it vaguely resembles a "rustic" pesto.
At this point, throw those deliciously roasted sweet potatoes into the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
After about 4 to 5 minutes, your eggs should be perfectly sunny side up. One way to tell your egg isn't full of salmonella is when the egg white is fully opaque — none of that transparent stuff. If you're super paranoid, cover your frying pan with a lid for a minute; the steam will fully cook the top of the egg, but that just means another dish to clean.
Once cooked, plate your egg, artistically arrange your sweet potatoes, and throw pesto on the plate with abandon. If you roast your potatoes ahead of time, this should only take you 15 minutes from start to food-in-face.
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Photo credit: Charlotte Palermino
Charlotte Palermino is the co-founder of Nice Paper and is a freelance beauty and food writer based in Brooklyn. Obsessed with carbs and a sharp cat-eye, she was formerly the editorial development lead at Snap Inc., and prior to that an associate director at Hearst Digital Media where she ate a lot pizza.
