Breakfast Hash With Fried Eggs and Basil Oil

The basil oil I mentioned on Friday was used in Saturday morning’s breakfast. I’ve been reading the October issue of Saveur, which is all about breakfast, and I was inspired to cook up a hash and top it with fried eggs. This dish doesn’t appear in the magazine, but all the breakfasts mentioned had me craving a big morning meal. Thinking about a hash, I wanted to create something with a varied mix of vegetables and not just a potato dish.

Fennel and orange bell pepper were diced small and added to the potato and onion. I left the hash to cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until it was very tender. The fennel, potato, onion, and pepper all took on a similar texture and the flavors were well-melded. I used a generous amount of Aleppo pepper which brought some good heat to the dish and balance to the sweetness of the onion and fennel. At the end of the cooking time, a big handful of chopped parsley brightened it all. The hash was served with a fried egg on top, a drizzling of basil oil, and some fennel fronds.

The basil oil was fresh-tasting as it enlivened the other items on the plate. The fennel was an especially good part of the hash, and it mingled very cordially with the basil flavor. I believe this is how the meal came together:

1 T butter
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t (or to taste) Aleppo pepper
1/4 cup red onion, minced
2 small, red potatoes, unpeeled and diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
1/2 orange bell pepper (or whatever color of bell pepper is in your refrigerator), diced
1 big handful parsley leaves, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
fried eggs
basil oil
fennel fronds

-melt butter with olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat
-add aleppo pepper, onion, and potatoes, stir to combine, and allow to cook, stirring occasionally while dicing fennel and bell pepper
-add fennel and bell pepper, continue cooking while stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes, season to taste with salt and black pepper
-stir in parsley just before serving
-fry eggs as you prefer and place on top of hash, drizzle with basil oil, sprinkle on fennel fronds
-sit down to a delicious, big breakfast

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