Sheet Pan Potato Hash

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This is one of those perfectly versatile dishes that serves as breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even dinner. I mean, it’s crispy potatoes loaded with all the salty-savory fixings, so what’s not to love? Put an egg on it and voila, you have the perfect one-plate meal.

Sheet pan potato hash

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 4), scrubbed, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
4 eggs
8 ounces hot-smoked salmon or other fish
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Trout or salmon roe, chopped dill, and thinly sliced red onion, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Toss potatoes in a large bowl with 1/4 cup oil. Season generously with salt.

2. Transfer potatoes to a rimmed baking sheet and spread out into an even layer (it’s okay if they overlap as long as they’re even). Roast, undisturbed, until browned and very crisp, about 45 minutes.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Crack eggs into pan and fry until set, about 3 minutes.

4. Divide potatoes among plates and top each with an egg, smoked fish, and creme fraiche. Spoon roe over and scatter dill and onion on top.

Ricotta Toast with Figs and Seeded Honey

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Say hello to my new favorite breakfast. It’s super simple, so the dish really rests on the quality and seasonality of the ingredients. The figs? Local. The ricotta? Local. The honey? Definitely local. Insufferable, but delicious.

Ricotta toast with figs and seeded honey

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1/2 cup honey
1/2 loaf rustic bread
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 fresh ricotta
6 figs, sliced

1. In a medium bowl, combine the seeds and honey and mix.

2. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Cut the bread into 4 thick slices and brush with oil. Toast bread on skillet until warmed through and lightly toasted, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

3. Spread the ricotta onto the toasted bread and arrange figs on the ricotta. Drizzle the honey-seed mixture over the top and serve.

Maple-Turkey Bacon Popovers

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Looking for a carby, sweet-and-savory side dish for your holiday meal this year? I got you. These popovers are easier to make than they look, and they taste oh-so-decadent: airy and eggy and glazed with a healthy brushing of maple syrup (our household is, after all, partly Canadian).

You can use regular bacon here but I love turkey bacon. Really. Don’t @ me.

Maple-Turkey Bacon Popovers

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped turkey bacon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for brushing
4 eggs, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high and cook chopped bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 7 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Allow drippings to cool in skillet; pour into a small heatproof bowl.

2. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter to drippings; stir to combine. Spoon 1 teaspoon drippings mixture into each cup of a 12-cup large muffin pan. Place pan in oven to heat, being careful not to let the drippings burn.

3. Stir together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, maple syrup, eggs, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large bowl. Gradually whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until nearly smooth; fold in bacon. Transfer batter to a large spouted measuring cup.

4. Carefully remove hot muffin pan from oven. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake in preheated oven until popovers are puffed and golden brown, about 18 minutes. Lightly brush tops with additional maple syrup. Remove from pan and serve.

Crepes with Caramelized Bananas, Whiskey, and Walnuts

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These sweet and sticky bananas are begging to be piled atop fresh crepes for a decadent weekend brunch. Fortified with whiskey and walnuts, this dish is a pinch to make, especially if you cook the crepes ahead of time.

Crepes with caramelized bananas, whiskey, and walnuts

Ingredients:

One quantity crepes from this crepe recipe (minus the dark chocolate sauce)
2 tablespoons avocado or other neutral oil
5 bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup whiskey (bourbon works well here)
1/2 cup walnuts

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bananas, cut side down, and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top. Cook bananas until heated through and sugar is melted, about 5 minutes. Add whiskey and flip bananas over. Add the walnuts and cook until the bananas are caramelized and the whiskey has reduced to a syrup. Serve over crepes.

Iranian Tomato and Eggplant Frittata (Varagheh)

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Iranian cuisine has all manners of frittata, which are typically called kuku: herb kuku, potato kuku, eggplant kuku — you get the picture. But I’d never had varagheh growing up, which is basically kuku’s cousin: an herby, garlicy egg dish layered with stacks of eggplant and tomato. In other words, a Persian summer in a cast-iron skillet.

Adapted from Naz Deravian’s Bottom of the Pot cookbook, this northern Iranian dish has become one of my favorite Iranian recipes. You can make this ahead of time, cut it into wedges, and serve it at room temperature, but be careful: these go fast.

Varagheh

Ingredients:

1 pound Japanese eggplant, sliced into 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
7 eggs
2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
1 heaping tablespoon minced tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tomatoes, sliced into 1⁄4-inch rounds

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. Toss eggplant with 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then spread out on baking sheet. Roast until tender, turning once halfway through, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, then lower heat to 400F degrees.

3. While eggplant roasts, beat eggs with garlic, tarragon, capers, remaining 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

4. Heat a 12-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Add butter and remaining 1 tbsp. oil. When sizzling, add half of tomatoes in a layer (overlapping if needed), and layer with half of eggplant. Repeat with remaining tomatoes and eggplant. Pour in eggs.

5. Bake until set and edges are slightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve.