Weekday Vegetarian: Breakfast Tacos with Pico de Gallo

Photo: Kelly Rossiter

Even though I'm an early morning person, I don't like to get cooking too soon in the day. I'm a devotee of toast, and that is what I have to eat most mornings. It's different during the summer though, when my days aren't so hectic and I can take a bit of time to develop an appetite and make an appetizing and slightly more ambitious breakfast. I especially like making breakfast when we have company, as we have had for the past week, when everyone gets up at their own time and breakfast usually turns into something closer to brunch.I often make scrambled eggs or pancakes for a crowd, but my daughter has initiated me into the pleasures of the taco. My husband still doesn't get it, and finds them hard to eat, but I quite enjoy them for something a little different. When I made this recipe, I didn't have any cooked potato, so I just chopped the raw potato finely and cooked it in a bit of olive oil, and it didn't take much longer than using a cold one. This is delicious with pico de gallo, and the recipe for that is below the taco recipe. It needs to sit and macerate for a little while, so make that before you get started on the tacos.

This recipe is from the Williams-Sonoma book Breakfast Comforts by Rick Rodgers.

Breakfast Tacos

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
Kosher salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs
1 tbsp unsalted butter
8 corn or flour tortillas, each about 6" in diameter, warmed
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

1. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 25 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Refrigerate until chilled, at least two hours or overnight.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. In a large frying pan, heat the oiil over medium-high heat. Add the potato cubes and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add half of the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened , about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper just until thoroughly blended. Do not over beat. Return the pan with the potatoes to medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook until the eggs begin to set, about 20 seconds. Stir with a heatproof spatula, scraping up the eggs on the bottom and sides of the pan and folding them toward the centre. Repeat untilthe eggs are barely cooked into moist curds. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand to allow the residual heat to finish cooking the eggs, about 1 minute.

4. Fill the tortillas with equal amounts of the potato egg mixture, sprinkle with cheese and top with a spoonful of the pico de gallo.

Pico de Gallo

2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 tbsp cilantro, minced
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 jalapeno chili, seeded and minced
Kosher salt.

1. In a nonreactive bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno. Season with salt. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

More Great Breakfast Recipes
Healthy Farmhouse Corn Cakes
Scrambled Eggs with Avocado
Breakfast Burritos

Tags: Weekday Vegetarian

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