Hab’ Ich Ein Bauernfrühstück! (German Farmer’s Breakfast)

Sadly, I have never had a chance to try out this dish in Germany during my previous trips to this land of sausages. The closest to this dish that I have ever had was the Bratkartoffeln (stir-fried potato slices) which was always available at the Wochenmarkt in Frankfurt. I can still recall the irresistible whiff of fried potato fragrance whenever we approached the market stalls. This lingering aroma must have frozen in time in my mind, thanks to the prolonged winter back then.

I was quite sure that the Bauernfrühstück was probably going to turn out like another dish of mishmash with potatoes et al, similar to the way potatoes are stir-fried in many other countries. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to give it a try to see how it really tastes like. It is also a good chance for me to revisit the taste of memory etched at the back of my mind.

For those of you who are craving to have a hearty breakfast one fine morning, try this. You’ll love it enough to crave for it again.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes: 3
• Bacon: 6 slices, chopped
• White onion: 1, finely chopped
• Ham slices: 100g, chopped
• Salt: 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp
• Egg: 4
• Milk: 2 tbsp
• Basil: 1 leaf, finely chopped
• Parsley: 1/2 stalk, finely chopped
• Ground blackpepper: 1 tsp

Method:

1. Boil potatoes for 30 min.
2. Drain water and leave to cool before peeling off skin. Slice the potatoes into cubes.
3. Heat bacon in pan. Leave to cook till browned.
4. Add onions and ham. Fry till onions are softened.
5. Add potatoes and 1 tsp salt to pan. Fry on high heat till browned.
6. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, basil, parsley, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper together.
7. Pour mixture into pan. Leave to cook for 10 min on low heat.
8. Garnish with extra parsley to serve.

Tricks:

• Add in some parmesan or cheddar cheese before switching off the heat for an ultimate yummilicious potato omelette!
• I used the Happy Call pan (first picture) to make this dish which helped to puff the omelette up a lot. It would work as well if you were using a wok, as long as it is deep enough to hold the omelette in.

Disclaimer:

• It takes a real salty dish to make for a most authentic German dish. I’ve reduced the amount of salt here for sanity’s sake, but if you’d like to enjoy this dish in its full extent of authenticity, make sure you add in at least 2 more teaspoons of salt at step 5 above.

Serving:
4 – 5 persons (1 tray)