Wanting to find new Sunday brunch ideas, I was inspired by a recent episode of America’s Test Kitchen.
They constructed a brunch recipe named for the northeastern region of Spain, the Basque region.
Dividing France and Spain, the Basque region is known for their vast produce choices, including six different varieties of peppers.
Although my recipe does not include these exotic peppers, I wanted a recipe which would stimulate my sense of smell, taste and sight.
America’s Test Kitchen developed an Eggs Piperade recipe.
It suggests cooking the vegetables separate from the eggs; a method that prevents the eggs from being stringy and wet.
The peppers are able to retain their natural sweetness and evaporate their liquid away.
Although you could use any pepper you like in my recipe, I chose green and red bell peppers for not only their mild flavor but also their color.
To avoid thawing hash browns, this is how I prepared mine.
Cut open frozen hash browns and place all of them in a large, FREEZER safe zip lock bag.
Close zip lock bag. While lying on a strong surface, use the flat side of a meat tenderizer mallet to break up the potato chunks.
Open zip lock back and put 2 cups in a bowl.
Seal ziplock bag and return to freezer.
Egg and Pepper Brunch
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 green pepper seeds removed, cut into julienne strips
- 1/2 red bell pepper seeds removed, cut into julienne strips
- 1/2 Roma tomato chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes no need to thaw
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 5 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Julienne cut the red pepper, green pepper, and chop tomato, gather on one plate.
- On top of the peppers & tomatoes, sprinkle the paprika, red pepper flakes, thyme, garlic, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper - set aside.
- Place 2 cups of frozen hash browns in a bowl - set aside.
- In a small bowl, break eggs. Add Tablespoons of whipping cream, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper.
- Using a fork or whisk, mix up eggs till broken.
- Place 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a small, 8-inch non-stick skillet and turn to medium heat.
- Place 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a separate, small, 8-inch skillet and turn to medium heat.
- Place 1 Tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch, non-stick skillet, do not turn on heat yet.
- Once small skillets are hot, place hash browns in one skillet. Using a spatula, make sure hash browns are flat against the skillet.
- In other small skillet, add your pepper mixture.
- Allow peppers to cook for 4-5 minutes before stirring. Saute peppers, stirring occasionally, while other food is cooking.
- After 10 minutes, hash browns should be brown on bottom and have formed a large cake.
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese on uncooked side, then flip to brown second side.
- Meanwhile, under 10-inch skillet, turn heat to medium-high.
- Once butter is melted, add egg mixture.
- Allow eggs to set before stirring. Gently stir eggs till they reach your desired consistency.
- By the time your eggs are done, the peppers and hash browns should be done as well.
- Begin plating.
- Divide the hash browns, pepper mixture and eggs into two portions.
- Garnish with chives or fresh parsley.
A few notes about your Egg and Pepper Brunch
I like my peppers to have a little bit of a crunch to them, instead of being soggy.
By cooking them during the course of cooking everything else, they do not become over-done.
This delicious, filling brunch can be adjusted to accommodate more servings, however, make sure you adjust the size of skillets you use, along with ingredient portions.
Tools for this meal:
One Comment
ｖｅｎｕｓｆｉｔｎｅｓｓ (@venus_fitness)
a great way to sneak in more veggies in the morning.