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Cooking @ Home: Hearty breakfast skillet for a busy day
Crispy potatoes, vegetables topped with eggs and cheese can feed a crowd or make plenty of leftovers
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Weekend breakfasts at my house growing up often meant this hearty breakfast skillet. It was filling, with plenty of well-seasoned crispy fried potatoes, fresh vegetables, and a couple of eggs per diner, a generous helping of melty cheddar cheese, and some mushrooms for an added burst of flavor. As a bonus, it all comes together at one in a large skillet.
Just this last holiday season, I learned that this was actually a recipe that my mother had handcrafted trying to copy a menu item from a restaurant she and my father used to love before it went out of business. All I can find about this place online is that it was apparently the best place to get waffles in the Denver metro area in 1989. So, should you happen to find yourself there 36 years ago, you’ll have to give them a try.
Here in the present, I’ve just got this recipe, but honestly I think a good breakfast skillet beats a waffle any day of the week. If you’ve never perfected your fried potato craft, the secret is to give the potatoes longer than you initially think they will need. Let them cook longer at a lower heat and don’t move them around too much other than a couple of turns to get them brown on all sides until they’re noticeably softened.
Recipe
Stovetop Breakfast Skillet
Prep Time 10 minutes/ Cook Time 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
Corn oil to lightly coat the bottom of the skillet
2 tablespoons seasoned salt (add more or less to taste)
1 large onion, roughly chopped to about 3/4-inch squares
1 green pepper, seeded and roughly chopped to about 3/4-inch squares
1 (8 ounces) can mushrooms, drained
8 eggs
Pepper to taste
1 (8 ounces) package shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
Directions
In large non-stick skillet with a lid, heat oil on medium for a few minutes, then add potatoes. Sprinkle with half of seasoned salt and cook for 5 minutes.
Stir potatoes and season other side with other half of salt. Cook 5 more minutes.
Test potatoes. When they are firm but edible, add onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. Increase heat to medium-high and stir to distribute. Leave potatoes until they begin to take on some color, then turn, repeating until potato cubes have light browning on all sides and are nearly at desired texture for eating.
In a bowl crack eggs, season with pepper and whisk. In a separate pan than the potatoes, cook scramble eggs until they are runny, half-finished consistency, then distribute over top of potatoes.
Top potatoes and eggs with cheese. Reduce heat to low, put lid on skillet, and leave covered about 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted.
NOTE: While this recipe easily feeds a crowd, it also makes great leftovers for the week. If planning to reheat later, it's advised to cook only as many eggs as are needed. Reheat the potato and vegetable mixture and scramble new eggs fresh when ready to eat.
Source: Alex Gallegos
Once that’s done, you can add your other vegetables and increase the heat slightly in order to put some color on the outside. If you cook them over too high of heat to begin with, they’ll be burned on the outside long before they’ve softened to the desired temperature inside. If you stir them too often and keep them constantly moving, they’ll cook, but they’ll never form a nice crispy crust on the outside. True potato enlightenment takes some practice but is a skill well worth mastering!
If you’re feeding an even bigger crowd, this recipe scales up very nicely. I’d add another large potato and 2 eggs per added diner. You can easily get up to enough for 6 people without running out of room in a large skillet.
Alex Gallegos is an enthusiastic home cook who enjoys trying new recipes and learning new techniques. Find this recipe and others like it at PlatefulsOfFlavors.com
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