Dinner Tonight: Paprika-Spiked Home Fries with Poached Egg
"The more stirring, the less brown. And brown is the whole point."
Because sometimes, this is all I want to eat for dinner, home fries. And I say there's nothing wrong with that. Deeply crisp, creamy chunks of potato seared in butter; sticky caramelized onions hiding under each bite; a dusting of smoky paprika and black pepper. And to bring a little protein to the party, why not a poached egg and its flowing, unctuous egg yolk? Nature's free sauce.
The secret to home fries depends on who you ask. All said, I'm in the precook camp—parboiled or microwaved—and I always make sure to use Yukon Gold or another firm, waxy potato so they don't fall apart. I recently read about cooking the onions separately so they don't interfere with the whole purpose of breakfast potatoes: the crud. Don't mess with the crud. And speaking of crud, one other secret. Walk away. Don't touch those potatoes. Leave the kitchen if you have to. The more stirring, the less brown. And brown is the whole point.
Paprika-Spiked Home Fries with Poached Egg
-serves 2-
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients
3/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (2-3 medium), scrubbed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon paprika (or substitute garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon table salt, or to taste
Ground black pepper
2 eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Procedure
1. Arrange potatoes in large microwave-safe bowl, top with 1 tablespoon butter, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until edges of potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking. Alternatively, do not chop them and boil for 8 to 10 minutes, drain, and chop once cool enough to handle.
2. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 10 or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl.
3. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and pack down with spatula. Cook, without moving, until underside of potatoes is brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn potatoes, pack down again, and continue to cook until well browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring potatoes every few minutes, until crusty and golden on all sides, 9 to 12 minutes. Stir in onion, seasonings of your choice and salt and pepper to taste.
4. When potatoes are about ten minutes off, bring a small pot of water to boil, and add the vinegar. Turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer and slide the eggs into the water (I use a ladle technique). Guide the eggs back into a compact shape if needed. Cook just until the whites are completely set, 3-5 minutes
5. Taste the home fries for seasoning, and dust with almost all the paprika. Remove to two plates, top with the egg and sprinkle remaining paprika, lots of fresh black pepper, and a sprinkle of salt.
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30 Comments:
I often have a very similar meal, but usually my potatoes are made with olive oil and fresh rosemary. The egg is optional. I par-cook them as well in the microwave.
PeanutButter at 5:34PM on 11/11/08
This looks delicious, Blake. I don't know what's going on, but everything is making me hungry today. This looks super easy. I might make this for dinner.
Adam Kuban at 5:37PM on 11/11/08
Looks like heaven on a plate!
dhorst at 5:37PM on 11/11/08
Had a whitewater guide once who was from potato country and when we were camping he would brown those suckers to hell and back, he would go where few of us would dare follow.
But they were always damned good potatoes.
redfish at 5:39PM on 11/11/08
I'm not a big fan of poached eggs, but those home fries look tastey. I can almost smell 'em through the picture.
Raiders757 at 6:13PM on 11/11/08
i would suggest a few tweaks: change the paprika to smoked paprika, and add it after the butter is melted but before you add anything else. toast it until it's a deep brown and smells like heaven, then add the potatoes. paprika is only a shadow of what it can be until you bloom it with heat and oil.
cybercita at 6:50PM on 11/11/08
@cybercita thanks for the hint. I'll bet it makes all the difference in the flavor.
jackiecat at 7:05PM on 11/11/08
amen, brother
that right there is a plate of perfection
cook eat FRET at 7:36PM on 11/11/08
Sounds fabulous. Seen a lot of fries recipes, and this one does beat them all.
bbqadventures at 10:00PM on 11/11/08
I don't pre-cook the potatoes and mine turn out with the great golden-brown crispness on the outside and creaminess on the inside. I don't cook the onions separtely...Instead, I scatter them over the top of the potatoes right before I flip them over. They don't burn and turn black and they add great flavor without "interfering." :)
Haven't tried them with a poached egg on top. Looks delicious!
holdthemayo at 9:32AM on 11/12/08
man this looks good!
suburbangourmet at 12:11PM on 11/12/08
My standard for home fries has always been those served in diners in New Jersey. That is why I'm always disappointed when they are cut into chunks instead of slices. The diners always cut slices about a quarter-inch thick, the entire diameter of the potato. They are about the size of silver dollars, only twice as thick. For some reason, the texture and "mouth feel" of potatoes sliced this way for home fries makes them extra good. Every time I'm back in New Jersey (now live in Florida) I go to a diner and order a Taylor ham and egg sandwich on a hard roll with a side order of home fries. And, of course, a "cup o' CAWfee"! :)
JerseyWarren at 12:58PM on 11/12/08
Whee Deb! I love smittenkitchen, and this post just might be the one to convert me to homefries.
kfarrel3 at 1:23PM on 11/12/08
What interests me most here is the poached egg. I have never had one. I am always afraid that it will taste rubbery or worse, still have the egg mucous on it - so gross...
ddvierra68 at 4:14PM on 11/12/08
Oh man that looks great, I also knew someone that I think when making his potatoes walked away like you do, but I think he put in the lid a bit of water, does anyone know of this method?
pjracz10 at 5:24PM on 11/12/08
Oh man that looks great, I also knew someone that I think when making his potatoes walked away like you do, but I think he put in the lid a bit of water, does anyone know of this method?
pjracz10 at 5:25PM on 11/12/08
I think the author cooks the potatoes without a lid. If you lidded them *and* added water, you would basically be steaming rather than frying the potatoes.
I'm not sure exactly how they'd turn out, though. Why not experiment? :)
Pyrrhic at 7:56PM on 11/12/08
Anne Burrell got me used to the word crud and I'm lovin' it! I like my hash browns thin & crispy with lots of onions. Maybe I was also spoiled by NJ Diners? The poached egg isn't necessary if you don't like them but they're not at all as you describe dd68 - just make one over easy and plop on top. Now I'm thinkin' corned beef hash with egg on top. Must be hungry. Cawfee must be north jersey? I drink coughee and I grew up in central jersey, also lived in Philly and south jersey. How about Taylor or Trenton pork roll and eggs on a hard roll? Even better than ham IMHO. ;)
@pj. ~ I'd guess your friend didn't par cook the potatoes ahead, so just steamed them in the same pan, then browned them. I think that way is just as easy. If you put a little oil in with the water, you'll hear when the water has evaporated, as they start to "fry", if you don't notice that the steam had stopped escaping the lid.
PerkyMac at 9:56PM on 11/12/08
Those look really tasty...anyone here like bubble and squeak?
snowmoonelk at 4:21AM on 11/13/08
Thanks for a GREAT dinner idea on a blah Wednesday night! I saw that photo and said thought 'mmmmmmm...homefries make me happy!'
My variation was that I cooked up some bacon first, then cooked the potatoes in the bacon grease.
The poached egg on top was perfect with the crispy crunchy homefries!
hammondcheese at 7:50AM on 11/13/08
Looks nummy. To make it even better make sure you pick the right eggs. Read http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/which-eggs-to-buy/ to see a comparison of eggs and learn more.
GeriLW at 3:13PM on 11/13/08
Tried these last night and they were delish! It's very easy but I was a little impatient with all the waiting for it to brown part. So impatient that I didn't feel like waiting for water to boil and quickly fried an egg instead. Thanks for the great dinner idea!
spros at 5:20PM on 11/13/08
Made this last night - SO good! It was just the right protein/sctarch/homecooking blend that I needed to get me through my term paper. I don't honestly know how to "properly" poach and egg, but I seemed to have good results with the ladle-method. Even my runny-egg-phobic husband said he like the bite he had of mine ...though he asked for his own fried instead of poached. Oh well. Thanks!
kazoinker at 5:25PM on 11/13/08
I made this for breakfast today and it turned out great. I added onion and green bell pepper diced really fine to the potatoes. Fried them all until they were toasty golden brown, and then added some grated parm cheese to them and turned them a few time to let the parm melt and get crusty. Serve them a fried egg over the top. Delish!
dawnie2u at 10:33AM on 11/14/08
Ok, I woke up this morning and ran to the store to get the ingredients I needed to make this
BITTER at 1:48PM on 11/15/08
Bump. Sorry, forgot to add the link. It was way delish too - thanks for posting?
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b220/Rex1932/PaprikaSpikedTaters.jpg
BITTER at 1:54PM on 11/15/08
This was so delicious, my boyfriend asked me to make it again the next night! Next time I will add bacon because everything is better with bacon!
megancake at 6:01PM on 11/15/08
I saw this earlier, but until now I didn't have 1.5 leftover baked potatoes that I used instead of pre-cooking new ones. I am eating them now, and will never use another recipe. Cooking the onions separately is the secret, I suspect; that and giving the crud time to form properly. Thanks
Likeswords at 6:32PM on 11/15/08
I have been tinkering with a good potatoes recipe and this recipe provided the proper insights for perfection. The micro trick works well, and the potatoes really form a great crust. Keeping the onions separate also adds to a great dish. I got fancy with mine and drizzled the poached egg and taters with a touch of tarfufo oil. Outstanding.
mr_chorizo at 6:39PM on 11/15/08
I'm making it again tomorrow....seriously!
BITTER at 11:21PM on 11/15/08