Saturday, March 12, 2011

What's For Brunch, Roberta X?

Yet another edition of Breakfast Hash, much enhanced by Tamara's ingredient-shopping:

Three strips of good bacon.

Three rounds of Canadian bacon (Er, "bacon." All respect to our Northern neighbors but we just don't speak the same English, er, those of you that do, that is [glances semi-nervously at Quebec and regions east-northeastward], especially in this matter of the highest of pork products). This turns out, in fact, to be a major smoky-savory anchoring taste in the end result.

A half-pound of loose chorizo sausage. (Good heavens, we're having NAFTA for breakfast!)

In a large skillet or (best) wok, cook the meats in turn, reserving grease; leave about a quarter of the bacon fat in the pan for the bacon.ca and chorizo. Both bacons go on a paper towel on a plate and stay on the stovetop or adjourn to a low oven to stay warm, the sausage goes into a lidded bowl,* set tipped to drain.

One packaged of fresh whole mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced; fry in remaining fat, topping up from reserve stock as needed. Don't forget to keep draining the chorizo, either directly into the pan if it looks dry or into the reserved grease.

Two potatoes (your choice), diced, seasoned with one of the less-salty Cajun seasonings and/or Mrs. Dash (IMO, salt is not all that good a friend to tatties about to be fried). Push the mushrooms to the edges of the pa when the first start to get dark and add the potatoes, smoothing out into a single layer. Turn often until they brown.

Meanwhile, chop a half onion (I used a purple one) or leek/scallion/etc. and three Serrano peppers (+/- to taste). Don't deseed the peppers, just chop them into rounds and halve or quarter the rounds. I'd've added a Poblano, too, but we were out. Add the onion to the mostly-browned potatoes and mushrooms, mix, and cook until onions are almost translucent, then add peppers (I threw in one diced radish, too), mix, cook just a little and--

--Push it all to the sides, turn the heat up to High and scramble four eggs in the center.

When the eggs are done, add in the meat (snipping or crumbling the bacons), stir the whole melange together and take the pan off the fire ASAP.

Serve topped with fresh chopped radish, coarsely grated carrot and Italian-blend cheeses (or whatever). It needs no added seasoning; it's hot, smoky, fresh-tasting. We cleared our plates in record time. It is plenty hot but it's a crisp heat, well-moderated by the cheese and fresh raw vegetables.

No photo. It's Breakfast Hash, it looks just like what it is, a plate of mixed stuff.

I think some fresh dill and chives would have been good with this, too.
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* I cheat; back when my ex wasn't, I bought two sets of inexpensive Corelle dishes. The saucers are well-fitting lids for the bowls and it's ovenproof. The wok is another cheat, I suppose. If I could only have one pan to cook in, it would be a wok: saucepan, frying pan and stewpot in one!

6 comments:

John Peddie (Toronto) said...

Best enjoyed with another Canadian round.

You know-the kind that comes in dark brown glass containers: a somewhat foamy liquid reputed to have been made from plant by-products, water and some sort of airborne fungus.

Its names are legion-and they come in two (count 'em) official languages.

Ian Argent said...

The one canadian I know who has commented on the subjec tis puzzled as to why we cann it "canadian" bacon

Roberta X said...

Fish, sir, are not aware of water; and it's got to cross the border before it stops being back bacon. Or, hey, plain bacon. Or rolled in cornmeal and cooked as "peameal bacon."

I'm hungry now.

Ian Argent said...

Fair enough - I think her additude was one of "why is that particular bacon type associated with Canada?" as opposed to any other.

Roberta X said...

Streaky bacon, generally from pork bellies -- "American bacon" -- is not unique to the States but considering it as the bacon is; with it as the default, all other sorts require a modifier.

Meanwhile, Anglophone Canadians, hewing a bit more closely to UK dietary norms, were enjoying the leaner version.

Naturally, it got across the border. When it comes to "What's for dinner," our shared border is one of the most porous in the world; and then we were faced with the question of what to call this tasty pork product....

Ian Argent said...

True enough. American cuisine is just as choosy as the american language, I suppose.