Sunday, October 12, 2008

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


8 comments:

  1. oooh la la, great use for that basil oil! i was curious as to how you would use it, and this is perfect! i love a good hash, and this definitely qualifies. :)

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  2. What a great way to use the oil! It makes the dish tastier and prettier at the same time ^_^

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  3. Thanks! This dish was definitely not photogenic. There was no color left in the hash after the cooking time, but it was tasty and tender!

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  4. That looks like a nice breakfast. I like the use of the basil oil.

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  5. I LOVE hash. Grew up on the canned stuff as a kid. And back then, it was mighty satisfying. Now, I can't resist a brunch place that makes its own from scratch. What a way to greet the morning!

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  6. ohhhh. if i wasn't feeling so fat from dinner last night i may ask my husband to cook this up for me right now for breakfast. damn i'm hungry!

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  7. Thanks everyone. At least the fennel replaces some of the starchy potato, so it's not as filling as a hash could be!

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  8. Looks really good! I've been making versions of this ever since I started cooking, it was my first bachelor meal. Up north we call it skillet.

    Lots of good looking food here, keep it up!

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