Breakfast Pie
When I say breakfast pie, I realize that I’m using the term pie very loosely. It’s simply because that’s the best way to describe it.
Ever since we got on the delivery list of two of Charles’ work colleagues who raise chickens for their eggs, we’ve been blessed with fresh eggs laid by free-range chickens and haven’t had to buy supermarket eggs in quite a while.
The first time we got some, Mom marveled at how big the eggs were, but as soon as I cracked one open to make an omelet, she freaked. I noticed the difference between these eggs and store-bought eggs as well. The egg white was much thicker, and the egg yolk was almost firm, standing up from the surface of the egg white. And then there was the color of the yolk — bright gold like the center of a white daisy. Like most people, we had gotten used to the pale yellow yolks of supermarket eggs.
Needless to say, egg consumption at our house has risen. And I’ve had to come up with novel ways to prepare egg dishes for breakfast to alleviate the boredom of poached, fried, or beaten in omelet treatment. As I was rummaging through the freezer this morning I came across a half-used bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, and my mind leapt at the idea of using the hash browns as a base for a pie-like egg dish. All I needed was to add some chopped tomatoes that we had on hand and some grated Parmesan cheese that needed to be used up.
For the spicier-inclined palates in the household, I served the egg pie with some salsa on the side.
Breakfast Pie
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml.) oil
- 3 cups (720 ml.) frozen hash brown potatoes
- 6 medium eggs, beaten in a bowl
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml.) salt
- 1 cup (240 ml.) grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
Method
- Turn oven broiler on high (if your broiler has heat settings).
- Heat oil over medium heat in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet.
- Add potatoes and spread evenly in skillet.
- Cover skillet with lid and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Add salt and Parmesan to the bowl of beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.
- Arrange sliced tomatoes in a layer on top of the potatoes in the skillet and then pour the egg mixture evenly into the skillet. Cover with lid and cook for about 4-5 minutes until the egg in the center of the skillet is cooked.
- Remove lid and place under broiler in oven for another 2-3 minutes until the top of the tomatoes are wilted and egg is golden.
- Remove and serve immediately with salsa on the side.
Enjoy!
— Vic
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PDFCategory: Brunch/Breakfast, Eggs
About the Author (Author Profile)
Victor Panichkul is a journalist and writer by training; a cook, wine lover and photographer by passion; and a lover of the outdoors since moving to Oregon more than 10 years ago. He is a native of Bangkok, Thailand.
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Sounds wonderful and so simple.
yum! this would make a delicious brunch!
Its a Frittata…aint it? Yummy…I love Frittata…omelette…quiche…eggs are great for breakfast…infact im going right now to make a Frittata…looks great by the way 😉
We have a ‘chicken tractor’ at home and move it each day so the chickens can hunt for bugs in the grass each day. I noticed the egg yokes are dark yellow to gold. And the shells are quite thin. I like to pickle them when we get too many. Also add eggs to everything. The grad kids love to feed them.