Breakfast on The Grill.

As we work our way through July’s month of grilling I thought I’d share a lovely breakfast done on the grill, but one which can easily be done in your kitchen oven as well. Yes I do read your emails, so this one is especially for those of you without a grill or bbq. Kieana, Tehya and myself had a grand time with this breakfast, so I know you’ll enjoy this one as much as your guests. This is not your typical Caribbean breakfast, but with the fresh herbs and slight kick from the scotch bonnet peppers… traditionalists will fall in love with this dish.

 

You’ll Need…

4 eggs
2 large potatoes ( I like Yukon gold)
1 tablespoon chives
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
pinch of black pepper
pinch sea salt
2 tablespoon olive oil (see note)
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 medium tomato
3/4 cup cheese (see note)
4 strips crispy bacon

* Near the end of cooking I had some grated cheddar which I used to top the dish  (Optional)

Note: I used some of the bacon fat instead on the olive oil. Use  any cheese you like… I used feta. You can use sweet potato or Caribbean yam instead of the everyday potato which I used if you really want to make this Caribbean.

 

Peel, wash and boil your potatoes until tender but without falling apart. Slice the tomato and onion thinly, then chop the parsley, chives and scotch bonnet pepper. Do not include any seeds from the pepper and remember to wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water after handling scotch bonnet peppers. Also give the bacon a rough chop or if it’s fried crisp, you can easily crumble it in your hands.

It’s now time to layer everything into your cast iron pan or heat proof pan if you’re doing it in the oven. Brush on the oil (or as in my case the bacon fat) to cover the entire pan, then add the sliced onion, followed by the potato (cut 1/4 inch thick). The onion will caramelize when cooked and give it a wonderful sweet flavor.

Now add the feta cheese (spread evenly) and top it with the chives, scotch bonnet pepper, thyme and bacon bits.

Crack in the eggs (spread them apart evenly) and put the tomato slices between them, then top with the parsley, black pepper and salt. It’s now time to head out to the grill to get cooking. There are 3 burners on my grill so the the 2 burners directly under the pan were set on low and the one on the far right was on high. You’re looking for a moderate temperature and do remember to keep the lid on the grill closed.

After 20-25 minutes the eggs should be set and this is where you’ll personalize the dish a bit. Depending on how firm you like your eggs you’ll have to determine how much longer you want to cook this. I went for a further 5 minutes, but at this point I topped everything with some grated cheddar and allowed it to melt and bring the entire dish together.

Do remember that it will continue cooking after you remove it from the grill, so keep that in mind when determining how you want your eggs cooked.

The potatoes were boiled in slightly salted water, feta is usually a salty cheese and the bacon (and fat) will also have some salt, so do keep this in mind when salting the dish as you prep it. If you’re doing this in your oven I would go with a 375 F heat for 20-25 minutes, then under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to melt everything together and give it a little color.

This is a 4 person dish and can be sliced in quarters the shape you would slice pizza so everyone gets and egg. You can certainly top it with more eggs if you want.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.