Tex-Mex Potatoes & Eggs

Five miles in, and struggling to keep up, I still had a smile plastered over my face. It was Memorial Day weekend, and we were spending it up at Mount Evans. For the first time all week, the stress headache building at the back of my head had calmed itself. I went back to that moment in my head at mile nine, on our way back out.

The hike to the Mount Evans climbing area is unique because you have to climb up and then down and then up again, which means that on the way back home you have to climb down and then up again before you get to go down again. You are exhausted and that last little stretch of climbing is a mental battle. It didn’t help that it was our first day in the alpine this season -- where the air is thin.

Once back at home, we snuggled into the couch with plates of food (you know when you are just too tired to make anything, so you just throw stuff together?) and binge watched the last few episodes of Atypical (which I recommend doing). 

The next morning a feast was an order: a hearty breakfast with starches, carbs, and eggs with runny yolks. Revitalization! Fuel. That’s how this dish came to life. And oh, did it hit the spot.

If you’ve read Foraged Breakfast, you might be familiar with my story about Huevos Rancheros. My love of Tex-Mex breakfasts continues here: the potatoes have been spiced with chili powder, cumin, and paprika. The addition of avocado is a no-brainer for me; you might want to add some cheese two (we were out). 

I also used a little hat trick, boiling the potatoes with a bit of baking soda before roasting them. This coats the outside of the potatoes in a starchy slurry, which when roasted, turns into those super crispy bits we all love (like at the restaurants 🤤). 100% worth the extra step! It also means the potatoes need less time in the oven… and since this weekend it was over 90°F (in May no less!), keeping the oven use to a minimum is a huge bonus. 

You also cook the eggs in the same pan as the potatoes, adding them in part of the way through. Read: Less dishes.

This is a perfect way to serve a crowd — if you double the recipe, use a 9x13 inch casserole dish!

Tex-Mex Potatoes & Eggs

Published June 7, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

4 cups diced Yukon Gold potatoes

4-5 cups water

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1 tablespoon cooking oil (avocado oil or melted coconut oil)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for serving

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for serving

4 eggs

Cilantro, minced, for serving

Optional: Avocado, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 425°F.
2. Place diced potatoes with water and baking soda in a pot and set on stove over medium-high heat. Water should complete cover potatoes -- if it does not, add more. Bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Pour potatoes into a strainer and discard of water. Place potatoes in a glass baking dish. Drizzle with cooking oil, and the sprinkle with spices: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir potatoes with a spatula until all are equally covered in oil and spices. Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
4. Potatoes should be tender all the way through and starting to get crispy on the outside. Use a spoon to make four wells in the potatoes for the eggs. Crack an egg into each one, and then return the dish to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until egg whites are set and yolks are cooked to desired doneness.
5. Sprinkle with minced cilantro and salt & pepper to taste, and serve hot with sliced avocado.

Savory Oatmeal

At 7:30 PM, two hours into a bouldering session at the gym, pretty much anything sounds delicious. Like oatmeal. I’ve never liked oatmeal. Oatmeal cookies are great and baked oatmeal is amazing, but sloppy gluey oatmeal in a bowl? Ugh. Yet last week, there we were: It was 7:30 and we were still at the gym, starting to feel our stomachs rumble. And somehow, we started talking about oatmeal -- savory oatmeal. And it sounded good. Better than good, it sounded amazing. 

This was the dream-state I was in when I first started thinking about this recipe.

Obviously the dream stuck, Because the next day, at 7AM, I was making savory oatmeal. At 8AM my bowl was clean. I had never eaten a bowl of oatmeal so good. It wasn't until 8:03 that I realized I was running really late for a meeting. Not just a meeting, a breakfast meeting. 😯

I hurried out the door and made it to the meeting on time (ok, five minutes late) but I was full. So, I didn't get to eat out for breakfast that day (breakfast is one of my favorite meals to eat out for!) But you know what? That bowl of oats was worth it. 

What’s in the bowl:

• A savory blend of oats, fresh thyme, butter, and even a bit of nutritional yeast (you can skip the nutritional yeast if you can’t find it in stores, but I love the cheesy flavor it adds).

• Sautéd veggies. This recipes calls for leeks and kale, but use what’s in season: roasted red peppers and bacon bits topped with fresh avocado? In! Grilled zucchini with onions? Yes!

• Fried egg. Yes, with an extra gooey yolk, because I love that. Cook to your preferences.

• Cheese! Goat cheese, but really, any time of cheese is fine.

This recipe is easy to mix up with different veggies and different types of cheese. And I’ve discovered the real secret to why this is so good, which is that I love eggs and cheese and butter. Yes, I admit it. This bowl would be just as good to me if it was served over warm quinoa instead of oatmeal. So, if you, like me, don’t really love oatmeal you might want to try quinoa in this recipe instead. Or, if you've always be on the edge with oatmeal, give this a shot -- it's something different and just might win you over. Just don't make it the same morning as a breakfast meeting, because it will keep you full! 

Savory Oatmeal

Published May 29, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the oatmeal:
• 1-1/2 cup water
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast
• 1 pat butter

For the toppings:
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 leek, sliced into half-circles
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup kale, roughly chopped
• 2 fried eggs
• 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
• Additional salt & pepper for serving, and/or hot sauce

Directions:

1. Start the oatmeal: Heat the water in a sauce pan until it simmers. Add the oats, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and thyme and cook uncovered for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pat of butter, and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring in the butter. Remove springs of thyme and discard. Turn off the heat.
2. While the oats are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a skillet. When the oil glistens, sauté the leeks and garlic until soft & fragrant. Add the kale, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bright green.
3. Using a wooden spatula, push the greens to the side of the skillet, making room for the eggs. Heat the last remaining tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan, and when it’s hot, crack both eggs into the pan. Cook to desired doneness — leaving the yolk runny if you prefer (the runny yolk and oatmeal are a great combo!) or cooking until the yolk is hard.
4. Assemble: divide the oatmeal between two bowls. Top bowls equally with kale mixture, and add a fried egg to each. Sprinkle half of the cheese over each bowl. Add additional salt & pepper to taste. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

Potato Galette with Lox (AKA Giant Latke)

It's hard not to immediately fall in love with a dish that is crispy, fried potatoes topped with crème fraiche and lox. Virtually impossible, really. But with a fancy name like "Potato Galette" it would be easy to be scared off by this one, because it sounds hard to make. Which is why, after explaining this dish to several people as "a giant latke," I thought it should be included in the title. 

The word galette cues visions of beautifully free-form pies in my mind's eye, but according to wiki it's a lot less specific than that. Galettes are various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, and this crispy potato cake a perfect fit to that description. 

Call it whatever you want. In my book, crispy potatoes = winning, and lox for breakfast (or brinner) = winning, no matter what name you give it. 

I admit, the first time I made a potato galette I was nervous it wouldn't flip out of the pan. For one, I was making it for a party -- a potato themed party, thanks for asking - and didn't want to screw it up. But also, I used a cast iron pan while most recipes recommend a non-stick. I don't own any non-stick pans though (probably hard to believe when you see how full our cupboards are), so I made do with what I had. 

On that note, no matter the pan you use, please don't hold back on the oil/butter here, even though I know it's tempting. It's what makes the potatoes crispy, and will allow you to flip the galette out the pan in one fell swoop. 

Potato Galette with Lox

Published May 15, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6-8   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Lamb:
• 2 Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1/4 cup avocado oil or melted butter, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 ounces lox
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche, sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• Optional, for serving: minced chives, capers

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes, and peel. Then, shred (I use a food processor (affiliate link!) for this step).
2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil or butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until oil glistens. Tilt the skillet back and forth to cover the entire bottom.
3. When the oil is hot, sprinkle have of the shredded potato into the pan. It should sizzle a little bit as it hits — if it does not, the oil is not hot enough yet. Ensure the potato is in an even layer, and sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Using a metal spatula, press the potatoes down. Then, continue with the second half of the shredded potatoes, sprinkling them in an even layer. Top with remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Again, press down with the spatula. Now, drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil around the edge of the pan to help ensure it flips out easily.
4. Cover pan with lid and turn heat down to medium-low. Cook for 10-13 minutes. Potatoes should be cooked through, and browning on the bottom. Now, use the metal spatula to loosen the potato galette from the pan, working your way around the edge and under the galette. Once the galette is loose, get a plate, and flip the galette over onto the plate so that it sites browned-side-up on the plate.
5. To serve: slice into wedges, and top with a dollop of crème fraiche, minced chives, a slice of lox, and a few capers. Enjoy!