Crispy Breakfast Potato Cake With Piperade Food

IRISH POTATO CAKES

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, they should come together to form a soft dough. (see note 2 if your dough is too wet)
• Shape the dough into two roughly equal sized balls. Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour and use your hands (or a floured rolling pin) to flatten out a disk about 1cm thick.
• Cut the disk into 4 quarters.
• Use the excess flour from the board to give each potato cake a covering of flour, set to one side and repeat with the second ball of dough.
• Place a large frying pan or griddle pan over a medium heat. (don't add any oil)
• Dry fry the potato cakes for 4 minutes on one side until they are coloured (see note 3 )
• Carefully flip the potato cakes and cook for a further 4 minutes until heated through and dark brown in places.

CRISPY POTATO CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oil and butter over medium heat in a nonstick 10-inch skillet. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle the grated potatoes into the pan in an even layer and, using a spatula, gently press them into the pan. Season with about half of the salt and pepper and let the potatoes cook without shaking or stirring the pan, until they're crisp and browned on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Slide the potato cake onto a large plate and invert it onto another plate. Slide the potato cake back into the pan, browned side up, and season the top with the remaining salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the underside is nicely browned and the potato cake is cooked through, 7 to 9 minutes longer.
• Slide the potato cake onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

PIPERADE BASQUAISE

Steps:

• Prepare the piperade by first heating the 4 tablespoons of fat of your choice in a heavy 8-inch frying pan or, better still, in a small oval copper or enamel pan that you can bring to the table. Add the chopped onions and garlic and cook them for about 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring them frequently until they are soft but not brown. Stir in the pepper strips, turning them in the fat now and then, letting them cook for about 10 minutes, at which point they should be tender but still crisp. Drain the chopped tomatoes thoroughly and add them to the pan, sprinkling in at the same time the dried or fresh basil and the pepper flakes or hot pepper sauce. Raise the heat and cook the tomatoes briskly for a few minutes and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until all their moisture has evaporated. Be careful that the piperade doesn't burn. Put it aside until you are ready to reheat and serve it.
• At that point, combine 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in an 8-inch heavy frying pan, and over moderate heat, cook the julienned ham for a few minutes until the strips are thoroughly heated through. Remove them at once with a slotted spoon and spread them out on paper toweling to drain.
• Meanwhile let the fat in the frying pan cool to lukewarm before pouring it into the eggs, lightly beaten with salt and pepper. Over low heat, stir the eggs with a rubber spatula until they begin to form soft, creamy curds. Remove them from the heat when they are not quite set and gently spread them over the reheated piperade. Let some of the colorful vegetables show through. Lightly scatter the ham on top, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and/or chopped chives, and serve at once.

CRISPY POTATO CAKE

Steps:

• In a nonstick 10-inch saute pan, heat the vegetable oil and butter over medium heat. Press grated potato into pan. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook undisturbed until crisp on bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. Gently flip onto a plate and then slide other side into pan to cook. Salt and pepper second side. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until potato cake is cooked through and nicely browned. Cut into wedges, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

CRISPY BITS BREAKFAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Bring salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the potatoes and boil until nearly fork-tender (but not falling apart), about 15 minutes. Drain and allow to dry thoroughly, then cut into wedges.
• Heat the olive oil with the butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add the potatoes, sprinkle on some salt and pepper and pan-fry until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.

CRISP POTATO CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Peel the potatoes and place them in a pan of cold, salted water. Bring to the boil, simmer for 3 mins and drain. When cool enough to handle, slice a few very neatly. Coat the bottom of a round, ovenproof, non-stick pan with butter, then place a sprig of thyme in the middle. Cover with a slice of potato in the middle, then arrange the rest of the slices over the base of the pan, overlapping the slices in concentric circles. Slice the rest of the potatoes and tip into a bowl, then pour over the rest of the butter, the nutmeg and the thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything together, then tip the seasoned potatoes over the arranged slices and press down gently to flatten. The potato cake can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
• Cook the cake in the oven below the beef. Every now and then, remove it, press it down with a fish slice and drizzle the surface with a little olive oil. Cook for 1hr-1hr 15mins, until the sides look brown and crispy. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving dish or board, scatter with sea salt and serve cut into wedges.