Sunny Red Potato Breakfast Skillet and How to Clean a Cast Iron Pan

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Jeff and I took advantage of a 3 day weekend and spent time at our cabin.  We often have large groups of people stay with us, but due to a water issue there, it was just us this time.  I spent the weekend happily trying out new recipes.  All of them were good, but this is the one I want to share with you.  I have been thinking about these potatoes ever since we ate them.  I don’t know what that says about me.  Actually, I think what it says is I love potatoes!  Especially red potatoes that you don’t have to peel, that are browned in butter and a little crunchy on the outside and soft inside and coated with fresh garlic and herbs. Mmmm!

This recipe calls for grated cheese on top as well.  I remarked to my husband, that the eggs and potatoes were so good,  I almost don’t need the cheese on top.  He said, “Who are you and what have you done to my wife?”  Normally I would never pass up a chance to put cheese on anything.  Maybe I should go get checked?  No, I really think the potatoes with the egg on top was just that good!

They are very simple to make. The potatoes are cooked on top of the stove, then the eggs are added to the top and the whole thing finishes baking in the oven.  Just plan ahead, as the potatoes need to cook on the stove top for quite a while – I think mine took at least 45 minutes to get them soft and browned.  I cooked my potatoes all together in a large skillet, and then transferred the potatoes to the mini-cast iron skillets just because I love serving them that way.  You could also just cook the potatoes in a large cast iron skillet on the stove, crack multiple eggs over the pan of potatoes, and then put that same pan into the oven.  And if you don’t have cast iron, just transfer the potatoes to an oven safe baking dish.  Speaking of cast iron, do any of your pans look like this?

I found an easy way to clean them at the Apartment Therapy blog that has given me great success when dealing with cast iron.  Here is the same pan about 10 minutes later.

It only took 2 ingredients to clean the pan – salt and a potato!  You just pour in about 3 tablespoons of salt, cut the potato in half, and use one of the halves to rub the salt into the rust.  The graininess of the salt, and the liquid starch of the potato combine to get rid of the mess.  Your salt will turn a yucky color, and when it gets too bad you might want to throw it out and repeat the process.   After all the rust is gone, pour out the salt, rinse with water, dry immediately, reseason the pan, and you are good to go.  To go make red potato breakfast skillet that is.  Then you will be dreaming about potatoes, too.  And if you want cheese on your potatoes, that is totally fine with me.  There is no judging around here.  Welcome to the breakfast skillet club!

Red Potato Breakfast Skillet

• Servings: 4
• Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/4 c fresh parsley, minced
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 2-4 eggs
• 1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. In a 10-inch skillet, heat butter over medium-low heat.
2. When butter is melted, add potatoes.  Cook at medium-low to medium heat until potatoes are golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
4. Transfer potatoes to 2 mini-cast iron skillets or 1 large oven proof skillet or pan.
5. With the back of a spoon, make an indention in the potatoes of each mini-cast iron skillet, and crack an egg into each well, trying not to break the yoke or if using a large skillet or pan, make 2 – 4 wells, cracking an egg into each one.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 11 minutes for soft set yokes or until egg whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard.
7. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with cheese.
8. Bake 1 minute longer or until the cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Recipe from Cook AZ I Do, originally from Nadine Merheb in Taste of Home magazine, December/January 2013, page 61

 

 

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