Chicken and Veggie Hash

This is one of my favorite paleo comfort foods. The flavors are wonderful and it comes together quickly when using rotisserie chicken. It's great with the butternut squash, but you can substitute sweet potato and maintain the same flavor.


Adapted from JensGonePaleo.

Ingredients
8 oz cooked chicken (rotisserie, roasted, boiled, or baked, then shredded or cut into chunks)
6 strips of bacon, sliced into 1-inch pieces (This can be done ahead of time and incorporated at step 7.)
1 cup butternut squash, cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, quartered and then each piece cut into 2 - 3 pieces, keeping the bulb root intact
3 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp ground or whole fennel seed, crushed
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Veggies

1. Preheat oven to 415° degrees F.
2. While oven is preheating, chop the carrots, squash, and fennel.
3. Once the veggies are chopped, spoon coconut oil onto the baking sheet and transfer to the oven to melt, about 1 minute. Carefully remove warm pan from the oven and add veggies to the pan; toss with oil to coat. Sprinkle with fennel seed, salt, and pepper, and transfer back to the heated oven.
4. Roast until caramelized, about 15 - 20 minutes (depending on the size of the veggies).
   NOTE: This can be done in advance, with a larger quantity, so that veggies are ready for hash, frittata, salads, or just reheating and eating with a piece of meat. Let them cool before transferring to a container or aluminum foil. Refrigerate for up to one week.

Hash

1. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add bacon and cook until fat is rendered and bacon is crispy (add about 1 Tbsp of bacon fat and a handful of bacon pieces to the pan, if you've already done this).
3. Add the chicken to the pan and toss to coat with bacon fat. Cook until browned, about 2 minutes.
4. Add roasted vegetables and toss to coat. Sprinkle with ½ Tbsp fennel and toss or stir. Cook until everything is heated through, about 3 - 5 minutes.
5. Serve garnished with chopped fennel fronds, fresh parsley, and olive tapenade (I pulse 1 cup drained kalamata olives, 1 Tbsp capers, a dash of thyme, and olive oil in a food processor or use a store-bought olive muffalata from a local vendor.)...or just eat it as is.