Today is National Potato Day – Yes there really is a food holiday today called Potato Day. Not sure who made this one up but I’m guessing it was someone from Idaho! And since I spent 9 years of my life in Idaho, I think it’s a very good reason to honor the Idaho Potato! And really, who doesn’t love potatoes??? So in honor of National Potato Day I give you a super yummy breakfast of Hasselback Potatoes with Chorizo and Eggs.
When I was in Spain a couple years ago one of my favorite tapas was a potato dish with chorizo and a fried egg on top. The potatoes were usually diced in fairly large chunks and oh so crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. And Spanish chorizo is to die for! I had that tapas every place we went. I couldn’t get enough of it. Not only does Idaho do potatoes right, but Boise has some of the best chorizos in the United States. I haven’t been able to find good chorizos like they have in Boise (or Spain!) anywhere else I’ve lived, and trust me, I’ve lived in a lot of different cities (thanks to the Navy).
Okay, back to my potato dish for you today… I recently discovered Hasselback Potatoes. Ummm… hello? What rock have I been under? Apparently they’ve been around for a long time! Oh well, better late to the party than never going at all, right? So I thought I’d try a Hasselback potato version with my beloved chorizo and egg. If you can find really good Basque chorizo then this dish will be all the better with it. Obviously, here in the middle of Pennsylvania I wasn’t very successful in finding authentic chorizo so I used what I could find. I found two kinds, one version I used uncooked links, more like Italian sausage, and the other I used already cooked chorizo flavored chicken sausage that came in a package like hot dogs. See what I mean about not very authentic chorizo?
For the uncooked version I removed the meat from the casing and cooked it up in a skillet, just like you would do for taco meat. For the cooked version, I sliced it thin and browned it in the skillet. The I set both aside and went to work on the potatoes.
Thinly slice the potatoes but be careful not to go all the way through the bottom. You just want to be able to have the potato fan out a bit. Then put them in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, a little salt, pepper and garlic powder and roast in the oven until they’re crispy and good. To assemble, just stuff the chorizo between the potato sections and top with a fried egg.
Dig in and enjoy. Oh, and my favorite of the two… the sliced chorizo chicken sausage, so un-spanish like, go figure! Any one you choose, Hasselback Potatoes with Chorizo and Eggs is a winner!
- 4 Idaho baking potatoes (or any potato of your choice)
- 4 Chorizo links - about 1 link depending on size for each potato
- 4 eggs
- Olive oil
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Slice potatoes in thin slices being careful to not cut all the way through. You want the potato to stay in one piece! Coat potatoes in olive oil (get in between the slices) and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake in roasting pan in oven for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, until potatoes are cooked and getting crispy.
- Meanwhile, remove uncooked chorizo from casing, and cook in skillet, breaking it up into small crumbles. When cooked, remove to plate to drain on paper towel. If you're using already cooked chorizo, then just slice and brown pieces in skillet and set aside.
- Remove potatoes, top with crumbled chorizo or insert slices in between potato slices depending on type of chorizo used. If using precooked chorizo slices, I like to insert them in the potatoes toward the end of cooking. Top each potato with a fried egg and garnish with cilantro.
I liked the potato best when I put the browned sliced chorizo in between the potato slices toward the end of baking.
If you can't find chorizo, try something different, like bacon or pancetta!
