One-pan breakfast - something for the weekend

When I was 16 years old, I made up my mind one December that what I really wanted to do was host a new year's eve party.  But it wasn't enough to have people round for dinner and some dancing - oh no, this party had to be different.  The invitations requested the pleasure of my friends' company for "dinner, bed and breakfast" (although there was never the faintest possibility that anybody would consider actually going to bed!).  We dressed to kill.  We dined on the patio by candlelight.  We waltzed around the tables after dinner trying out the steps we had learnt for our Matric Dance (South Africa's version of a high school prom).  We went for a midnight swim.  We played Trivial Pursuit.  We went to the beach to watch the sunrise.  And then we came home for a fry-up followed by strawberries and Bucks Fizz.  

My 16-year old mind thought that entertaining people all through the night and providing a champagne breakfast was the coolest and most sophisticated thing ever - and somehow I have never quite got over my obsession with breakfast entertaining. 

Thus it came to pass that we had some good friends round for Christmas lunch last year.  Well, I say lunch... but it started at about 3pm and finished sometime around 8, after which we played games and drank port till midnight.  Needless to say, by the time Boxing Day rolled around, there were some bleary-eyed guests and we were in need of a restorative breakfast that didn't dirty much more than one pan (seeing that everything else was already dirty from the nght before!).  This delicious one-pan fry up was just the dish.  It is a great way to use up almost anything in your fridge too!

 

ONE-PAN BREAKFAST FRY-UP (serves 2)

For printable recipe, click here.

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 medium onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
250g bacon, diced (or used ready-diced bacon)
2 large tomatoes, diced (looking at the pics, I don't think I had tomatoes on Boxing Day)
about 10 closed cup mushrooms, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, diced
4 eggs
about 50g soft goats cheese
salt and pepper
pinch of dried rosemary
toast to serve
olive oil

Method:

Heat a little olive oil in a large non-stick pan.  Add the potatoes, onions and garlic and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Then add the bacon and bell pepper and continue to fry, stirring often, until the bacon is cooked and the potatoes are beginning to soften.  

Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and simmer until the mushrooms are just soft and the tomato has been somewhat absorbed into the mix.  Add the rosemary and salt & pepper to taste.

With the back of a spoon, make 4 small hollows in the mixture in the pan.  Carefully crack an egg into each hollow.  Scatter the cheese around the pan, cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook until the eggs are as runny or as hard as you like - I only cook it for a minute or two as I like runny egg yolks. 

Serve with plenty of hot buttered toast and Bucks Fizz!

Comments

[Catherine]

Ooh, that looks delicious! And I'm always a big fan of only having one pan to clean.
Your 16 year old new years eve party sounds a lot better than the one I had when I was 16! Midnight swimming and the beach at sunrise? Sounds divine.

[bellini valli]

I used to plan dinner parties when I was a teenager, the difference being I never had a chance to have friends over for dinner until I moved out on my own. Breakfast or brunch would have been a great way to entertain and this would be a grown up version of hash browns...in fact I am getting very hungry...time for breakfast.

[Kit]

That does sound very sophisticated for 16. I didn't do anything similar until I turned 21 and had friends for a birthday barbeque (English style except that I remember devisning some rather fine kebabs) and then sleeping over. No beaches and I don't think we even stayed up all night!

[joey]

I think champagne breakfasts are still one of the most sophisticated things ever :) I love them! You were quite the elegant entertainer already at 16!

[nina]

Brilliant Jeanne, Love that you do the eggs in the same pan as the rest of the dish!!!!

[Soma]

This is one of our FAVORITE way to brunch on weekends. I make it pretty much same way with tiny variation. A very elegant entertainer I must say at 16. I would have loved to be around.

[Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet]

This dish reminds me of the "skillets" Maxis has to offer in South Africa. You just can't go wrong with it - looks scrumptious!