Entertaining for brunch? Try our Chorizo and Potato Brunch Casserole, employing traditional Spanish techniques and flavors. The combination of crispy potatoes, juicy and plump chorizo slices, velvety egg yolk, and soft and succulent onions and peppers is delectable. The smoke, spice, and aromatics of the chorizo make this dish an instant brunch favorite.
Need-to-Know
What is Chorizo?
Chorizo sausage is pork meat, seasoned with mainly paprika, garlic, and salt and often cured with smoke and stuffed into a casing. It can be made with fresh or smoked pork, depending on its origin. It is often spicy, aromatic, and smoky.
The Many Faces of Chorizo
There are multiple different types of chorizo, and they may be employed in different ways depending on their locale, from Mexico to Spain. For this recipe, we employ Spanish technique by poaching our chorizo in white wine.
When you visit your local butcher, request chorizo that is soft and uncured. Tell them that you wish to cook it in wine. They will provide you with the appropriate type. The dried and cured varieties are not meant to be cooked and, therefore, should not be used in this recipe. We recommend chorizo in the casing such as Picadillo, soft uncured Castellano, or uncured Gallego. Interested in learning more? Check out some common types of chorizo and their characteristics below, discovered in this article:
- Picadillo Chorizo: It is soft, sometimes loose, and sometimes in the casing, made from raw pork meat and fat, paprika, crushed red pepper, and garlic and it must be cooked.
- Chorizo Semi-curado: It is semi-cured, fermented, smoked, and not dried and it is consumed uncooked.
- Chorizo Curado: It is cured or fermented and dried until firm and it is consumed uncooked.
- Chorizo Castellano: It is cured or semi-cured and seasoned with garlic, paprika, and oregano.
- Chorizo Andaluz: It is cured and seasoned with black pepper, paprika, cloves, garlic, and dry white wine.
- Chorizo Gallego: It is soft and often uncured, red in color, and seasoned with paprika and it is often cooked.
The Spanish Technique of Poaching
For this recipe, we introduce a classic Spanish cooking technique, in which we poach the chorizo in white wine. You may use an inexpensive bottle of white wine.
For this technique, prick the chorizo sausage several times with a knife, cover the chorizo sausage in white wine, and bring the wine to boil. When the wine begins to boil, cover the pot with its lid and reduce the stovetop to low heat. Allow the chorizo sausage to simmer in the white wine on low heat for 20 minutes.
The holes pricked into the chorizo’s casing and flesh will allow the wine to be absorbed into the chorizo, adding moisture to it and infusing it with the wine’s flavors. The sausage will release red oil into the wine during the poaching process. Don’t be alarmed; this is expected. After 20 minutes, you will be left with a beautiful, plump, red, and juicy chorizo sausage for your dish!
The Purpose of Parboiling
Ever wonder how you get that crispy, crunchy potato exterior with a soft buttery interior? The secret… one word, “parboiling.” Parboiling is merely boiling the potatoes in water before cooking them in the oven on high heat. This method will speed cooking time and create that crispy exterior we love by removing some of the starch! We recommend that you parboil diced potatoes for 5 minutes in alkaline water.
Cook Everything Separately
This dish contains various textural elements: crispy potatoes, soft and gooey onions and peppers, velvety egg yolk, and juicy firm chorizo slices. So, how do we ensure all textural elements are achieved? Cook everything separately.
Begin by tossing the potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and crisp them in the oven, on a baking sheet, on high heat. Then, simmer the chorizo sausage in white wine. Julienne and sauté onions and peppers in olive oil on low heat until tender and juicy. Finally, fry up a couple of over-easy eggs to throw on top!
If you cook everything together, you will end up with a gooey and gummy mess of food. Each ingredient cooks differently, at different temperatures, and using different techniques. Therefore, we cook each component separately, in its own pot or pan, and then layer the flavors together at the end.
Reheating and Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. To reheat it, place the mixture in the microwave at 70% for 1 to 1.5 minutes or until warm.
Wine Pairing
Visit your local liquor store and request a bottle featuring these characteristics to find the perfect pair.
- Color: red
- Notes: plum, figs, red currant, black cherry, leather, earth, aged in oak
- Geography: old
- Structure: medium-full bodied
Love your Leftovers
Leftover Potato, Onion, Pepper, and Chorizo Mix?
- For breakfast, scramble eggs and serve with the leftover mix.
- Spoon over bread for an appetizer or snack.
- For dinner, pan-fry white fish or dry scallops seasoned with salt and pepper and serve with the leftover mix. Garnish with thyme leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 10 oz soft uncured chorizo in casing 300 grams
- 2 potatoes cubed
- 2 eggs
- 1 green pepper julienne
- 1 yellow onion julienne
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 cups white wine
- 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tbsp for potatoes and 2 tbsp for onions and peppers
- 1 tsp grapeseed oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp for potatoes and 1/4 tsp for onions/peppers
- ground pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat Oven and Cut the Vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
- Wash and peel potatoes and onion. Wash and remove seeds from green pepper.
- Cube potatoes, julienne green peppers, and onion, and roughly chop garlic. Set aside.
2. Parboil and Prep the Potatoes
- Place cubed potatoes into a saucepan. Cover the potatoes with cold water.
- Add 1/4 tsp of baking soda. Place the saucepan on the stovetop at high heat.
- Boil for 5 minutes to remove some of the starch.
- Once you can pierce the potato with little resistance, strain the potatoes and toss them with olive oil, salt, and ground pepper.
- Pour potatoes onto a baking sheet.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes or until crispy and golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside.
3. Poach the Chorizo
- Pour white wine into a saucepan and place it on the stovetop at high heat.
- Prick the soft uncured whole chorizo sausage several times with a knife.
- When the wine begins to boil, place the chorizo sausage into the wine. Cover the saucepan with its lid, and lower the heat on the stovetop to low heat.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
4. Sauté the Onions and Peppers
- Place a cast-iron pan on the stovetop at medium heat.
- Add olive oil and allow the olive oil to heat.
- Add garlic, onions, and green pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Lower the stovetop to medium-low. Add bay leaf, salt, and ground pepper.
- Sauté for an additional 10 minutes or until soft.
- Remove from heat, remove bay leaf, and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
5. Fry the Eggs
- Place a non-stick frying pan on the stovetop at medium heat.
- Add grapeseed oil and allow it to heat.
- Crack each egg into a small bowl.
- When the pan is hot, add both eggs. After 30 seconds, flip the eggs. Lower the heat on the stovetop. Cook for 1 to 1.5 minutes.
- Flip the eggs onto a plate. The egg white should be fully cooked, and the unbroken egg yolk should be runny.
6. Let's Assemble the Casserole
- Sprinkle crispy potatoes into the cast-iron pan with onions and peppers.
- Slice chorizo into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices into the cast-iron pan.
- Top the cast-iron with perfectly cooked over-easy eggs.
- Serve with baguette.
2 Responses
Such a simple yet yummy dish. Thanks for the tips about layering the flavors and cooking things separately, that has made such a difference in my cooking!
Thanks Heather, we appreciate your comment and are pleased to learn that you are learning from our tips and tricks!