My husband Dan has a small but dependable repertoire of dishes he likes to make. These breakfast potatoes are on that list, and he cooks them up pretty much every Sunday.
As he got started with preparing them last weekend, he told me I should put these potatoes on my blog. And since I always listen to my husband (ok not always, but a lot), here you go.
Dan likes to use small red or white potatoes, but we recently discovered that it’s nice to add some sweet potatoes, too. This ups the “healthiness factor” and makes the finished potatoes look really pretty, too.
We have a big “island” where the prepping happens, and Maddie always pulls up a stool to help. Dylan generally sleeps right up until breakfast is ready: I don’t want to be 12 again but I will admit I kind of miss doing that…
We’ve found that cooking a leisurely breakfast is a great time to involve Mads in the process of putting food on the table. It’s also a great time to practice knife skills…
…and math!
We like our potatoes with lots and lots of onions, which are sauteed in the drippings leftover from cooking pastured bacon (use organic butter or olive oil if you don’t do bacon).
Before adding the chopped potatoes to the pan with the onions, Dan likes to add them to a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil. He doesn’t watch cooking shows or read cookbooks, so I am not sure where he picked up this tip, but we’ve got an old issue or two of Cook’s Illustrated in the bathroom so that’s probably it :)
When making these breakfast potatoes, you need to work a little at finding the perfect balance between moving the contents of the pan around so everything cooks evenly/nothing burns, and pressing everything down so you get those desirable golden brown edges.
I know there are lots of lots of ways to make breakfast potatoes, but these happen to be our favorite; we love them alongside crisp bacon and eggs from our backyard chickens.
What about you? Do you have a favorite breakfast potato method we should know about? Or a favorite Sunday breakfast tradition? Let me know!
More Yummy Breakfast Potatoes:
Purple Peruvian Potato Hash from Amateur Gourmet
Bombay Breakfast Potatoes from Kayotic Cooking
Cheesy Bacon Breakfast Potatoes from Created by Diane
Recipe For Our Favorite Breakfast Potatoes
Ingredients
- *3 cups chopped organic potatoes we use small red and/or white potatoes
- *1 cup chopped organic sweet potato
- *1 1/4 cup chopped onion
- *2 tablespoons minced garlic
- *2 tablespoons olive oil
- *1 tablespoon fat from pastured bacon or use butter or more olive oil
Instructions
- 1. Add chopped potatoes and sweet potatoes to a pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then take off the heat and drain. Set aside.
- 2. If you've cooked bacon (like we often do on Sundays), discard all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil (if you don't eat bacon or don't want to use bacon fat, use 1 tablespoon butter plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, or use all olive oil). Heat whichever type of fat(s) you want to use over medium-high heat, and add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until very soft and fragrant, about five minutes.
- 3. Add the potatoes, and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Alternate stirring the contents of the pan around so nothing burns (well to be honest, we like it when the onions burn a bit), and pressing everything down with a spatula so the potatoes get somewhat brown.
- 4. A liberal sprinkling of coarse sea salt and several grinds of the pepper mill finishes these potatoes off nicely; serve with eggs and optional bacon, doused with a little hot sauce, if you like.
