Let me introduce you to my newest spicy pantry love: harissa. If you like a little spice in your life, you've GOT to try it. Especially on these Harissa Breakfast Potatoes.
Harissa is an African hot pepper paste made from roasted red peppers, serrano peppers (hot!) and baklouti peppers from Tunisia, and tons of other spices like garlic, cumin, coriander and saffron—seriously out of this world. There are a lot of yummy versions, but the one at Trader Joe's is really affordable and tasty!
We were first introduced to this deliciously sweat-inducing sauce at a local Moroccan restaurant, Tara Kitchen—an amazing little spot with an open kitchen. When you walk in the front door, you basically step right into the kitchen where the chef is working behind the "bar" over a hot stove covered with many tangines—heavy bottom clay pots with a cone-shaped lid (which allows the food to cook evenly over the direct heat source while also steaming itself inside the pot). Walking up the half flight of stairs at the back, you are whisked to Morocco in a room packed with tables (which are always full), decorated with tapestries, photographs and sculpted pots, and hot enough to make you feel like you're really sitting at a restaurant in Casablanca.
The appetizers come out with little dishes of dipping sauces and plates piled high with pita bread. So dreamy. That little bowl of red sauce looked so innocent, but MAN did it bring the heat. And it was addicting. No matter how many little beads of sweat started to appear on our foreheads, we kept diving right back in for more. Divine.
Thankfully, you can find Harissa at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and lots of other stores! Sometimes it can be a little pricey—which is part of why we love the TJ's version... it's also delicious.
Sometimes we'll treat ourselves to a little harissa and naan for snack. But boy, oh boy, is it amazing in these Harissa Breakfast Potatoes. Potato skillets are one of the most common weekend breakfasts in our house either as a main (if we add a little bacon and veggies) or as a side to Luke's eggs and my avo toast! Now, I know I've written about Breakfast Potatoes before, but these Harissa Breakfast Potatoes are on another level.
Toss a little harissa in those potatoes while they're sizzling up and BAM. You've got a whole new dish. We do love these with a couple of fried eggs (and a side of grapefruit—I just can't get enough!).
Spice up your life.
Harissa Breakfast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 slices of thick-cut bacon diced
- 3-4 small russet potatoes
- 1/2 red pepper diced
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup broth
- 2 tbsp harissa
- salt & pepper
- 2 eggs to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high and add the bacon. Let cook for 8 minutes until cooked through.
- Add the potatoes, diced pepper, onion and olive oil to the pan and stir. Sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Spoon in the harissa and sprinkle generously with salt & pepper. Allow to cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes begin to crisp up.
- Add the broth, stir and move into the oven to finish cooking for another 15 minutes!
- If desired: while in the oven, fry up two eggs to serve with the potatoes!
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