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Purple Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Shiitake Mushrooms

Purple Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Shiitake Mushrooms

Please welcome my dear friend, guest author Ashley Teplin, who made for me the best breakfast potatoes I've ever eaten in my life. They take a little more time, but are oh, so worth it. ~Elise

I won’t lie; I have a bit of a potato problem. French Fries, Roasted Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, Scalloped Potatoes, the list is never ending. I could never stick to a carbohydrate free lifestyle with this potato infatuation of mine. And with my favorite meal of the day, breakfast, you are almost always given a side of this delicious starchy vegetable. It depends on my mood, but I typically prefer the roasted and perfectly crisped home fries. This recipe is my version of that classic breakfast accompaniment. Have you ever had purple potatoes? These little Peruvian potatoes are becoming more and more popular in grocery stores for their creamy texture and vibrant color. Cook them like you would new potatoes.

Shiitake mushrooms (pronounce shee-TAH-kay) are more expensive than standard button mushrooms, but they are so much more flavorful; you only need a few to make your dish sing.

Remember that patience is key when browning your potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and caramelizing the onions. Trust me, it is well worth the wait.

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Purple Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

Ingredients

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  • 3 Slices of thick style bacon
  • 1/2 pound new purple potatoes sliced in half and then in small wedges
  • 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 4 medium sized shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher Salt
  • Freshly cracked pepper
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1 tablespoon chopped capers
  • 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Method

1 In a small sauté pan heat one tablespoon of olive oil over a low heat. Add the sliced onions in one even layer, after five minutes add 1/2 tablespoon of butter, stir and add a pinch of kosher salt. While rendering your bacon and cooking your mushrooms in the next steps, make sure to stir the onions every few minutes and remove once they are evenly browned. This should take around 30 minutes, remove from heat when finished and reserve.

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2 While the onions are slowly cooking slice the bacon in small batonettes (1/8-inch crosswise strips) on your cutting board. Heat up a larger sauté pan on medium and when your pan is hot add the sliced bacon. Slowly sauté the bacon until slightly crispy and remove from the pan on to a paper towel-lined plate, reserve for later.

3 Julienne the shiitake mushrooms and then add them to the pan which now has the rendered bacon fat. Add a pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper to the Shitake mushrooms, don’t shake the pan but let the mushrooms brown evenly on one side. Once browned, flip the mushrooms delicately and remove from pan onto a smaller plate, reserve.

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4 Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and add the evenly sliced potatoes to the hot pan in a single layer; make sure not to crowd the pan. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and a good pinch of salt to the potatoes. Don’t move the pan, this is very important so that the potatoes can evenly brown. After 3-5 minutes, when they are browned flip potatoes and brown the other side, turn down the heat to medium low to evenly cook the potatoes.

5 Once the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, add the capers and let crisp up for a minute. Then combine the caramelized onions, mushrooms, and bacon to the large sauté pan with the browned potatoes. Re-warm over low heat. When hot, turn the heat off and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh picked tarragon.

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17 Comments

Oh, Ashley... this dish has all of my favorites in it. I'll make it tonight!

Yeah! Breakfast for dinner is always a favorite at my home.~ Ashley

Posted by: Garrett on December 18, 2008 12:13 PM

This looks fantastic! The potatoes have such a great color.

Posted by: Sara on December 18, 2008 12:21 PM

Hi Ashley! There's nothing as tasty as potatoes for breakfast. I love the idea of purple potatoes and bacon. Great combo.

Posted by: Karina on December 18, 2008 12:37 PM

Without the bacon, this is right up my alley. I've hardly met a potato that I don't like (OK, love). I buy the purple ones in 5 pound bags. This sounds just heavenly. I wish that I had some right now.
And the shiitake mushrooms will boost your immune system. Can't beat that.

The bacon can definitely be omitted for a great vegetarian potato dish. Enjoy! ~Ashley

Posted by: Jill, The Veggie Queen on December 18, 2008 1:26 PM

Ashley, this sounds incredible I will make this part of our family brunch on Christmas Day!!

Posted by: Stacey on December 18, 2008 2:49 PM

I hate mushrooms, but this actually looks pretty good. Reminds me of a dish I recently made using purple potatoes and caramelized onions.

Posted by: Danny Gabriner on December 18, 2008 3:05 PM

I love purple potatoes. I lived in Japan for a few months and I loved going to lunch and having them tempura style with hot udon. This looks like another wonderful idea, I will have to try it!

Posted by: nia on December 18, 2008 3:30 PM

Omigoodness!!!
FABU!!! I can't wait to make it myself- I'll be my husbo's "favorite" person again!!! ;-)

Posted by: Keli Campbell on December 18, 2008 9:27 PM

The purple potato is a new animal for me; in fact, I just saw a bag of them in my grocery store for the first time! Comparatively, what is the flavor? For instance, I know the golden potatoes have a more buttery flavor.

I will try anything..it's my family that's another matter, so I may just make these for myself! hehe

Posted by: Trish in MO on December 19, 2008 5:48 AM

Looks great! I love potatoes and am always in the market for new ways to fix them.

Posted by: Tabitha (From Single to Married) on December 19, 2008 8:39 AM

These look totally awesome. Thank you!

Posted by: Andi on December 19, 2008 9:53 AM

The ingredients are great.I can imagine this dish with perfect poached eggs on sliced La Brea organic wheat toast for breakfast or dinner.

Posted by: Larry on December 19, 2008 10:03 AM

potato problem? I don't understand...

Posted by: Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener on December 19, 2008 4:07 PM

You mean Yukon Gold isn't the only cool potato on the block?! I can't wait to try this myself, although I don't think my potatoes will look quite so pretty. My knife skills need sharpening. Think I could double the bacon?

Posted by: Brooke on December 22, 2008 9:52 AM

Hey Ashley. It doesn't get more delicious than this....unless of course, you do what the Austrian Tiroleans do. That is, serve it topped with a sunny-side-up fried egg.
They call the dish gröstl (pronounced guhr-stel) and often make it with leftover potatoes.

Posted by: Maureen Clancy on December 24, 2008 2:07 PM

What beautiful potatoes. I have a potato infatuation too. I'll definitely keep my eye out for purple ones!

Posted by: gaga on December 25, 2008 9:55 AM

Simply simple and delicious! I didn't have taragon so I used cilantro instead, next time I'll try with taragon.

Posted by: vicky delgadillo on September 21, 2009 9:59 PM

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