The first weekend of October found me in a lovely and misty Portland, Oregon. I went up there to visit with some close friends from my Motorola days. On Sunday morning, I contributed to brunch for the gang by preparing one of my favorite childhood brunch dishes.
This dish does double duty as center stage entree for brunch, and simple sandwich filling for leftover re-purposing, kind of like meatloaf.
Update: Christina's comment (below) reminded me about the Manchego cheese... When I made this for them, I sprinkled about 1 cup shredded Manchego cheese on top and put it on the broiler for a few minutes (until the cheese browned a bit) before resting and serving. This was a very welcome detour from the dish I knew as a child. Manchego would be the obvious choice, but Gruyere would work nicely here too.
4 large waxy potatoes (Yukon Gold or red), peeled and thinly sliced (Hello, food processor!)
1 large onion, thinly sliced (Hello again!)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
8 large eggs, at room temperature
a splash of milk or heavy cream
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
1- Preheat oven to 400. Grease a cookie sheet and a 10" nonstick pan or skillet with about 1/4 cup of the oil. Set aside.
2- Toss the potatoes, onion, garlic, remaining 1/4 cup of the oil, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread as a thin layer over a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, tossing in pan halfway, until the potatoes start to get golden and are soft. Remove from oven and lower oven temperature to 350.
3- Beat the eggs, milk, and Worcestershire sauce with a whisk in a large bowl until lightly combined.
4- Add the hot cooked potatoes to the egg mixture and toss well. Do not be shy about mixing hot potatoes into egg! It is a must in this recipe! Pour onto oiled skillet or cake pan (I put parchment paper on mine before oiling some more) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture is set. Turn onto a cookie sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the top starts to brown. Remove from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Best served at room temperature.
