What’s Cooking Wednesday: Potatoes, Peppers, & Eggs

whatscookingwednesday.jpgMy grandmother used to make this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe, Potatoes, Peppers, & Eggs, any time of day and so do I.

I tend to turn to this tried and true dish whenever I have peppers around that won’t get used otherwise or when I simply don’t know what else to eat but want something that’ll fill me up and keep me full.

And every time I make it, I wonder why I don’t make it more often because I really do love it. Pass the fresh bread! Yum!

I do this in a fancy scrambled eggs style, but you could just as easily turn this into a frittata/omelet. For me, scrambling the eggs is simply less labor-intensive, thus keeping the fast, easy, and delicious theme that we like so much around here.

Oh, you don’t want the potatoes in? Check out the Seven Fishes Blog‘s recipe for Peppers & Eggs here. And of course this would be great with ham, pancetta, onions . . . use your imagination, and whatever you have around that needs to be used up!

Potatoes, peppers, & eggs
(serves 2)

Potatoes, peppers, & eggs on Flickr

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
  • 1 large green pepper (or red, yellow, whatever you prefer), cut into strips
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon grated cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oil on medium in a pan that will be big enough to hold all ingredients.

2. Add peppers and toss so they are covered with oil. Lower heat and let cook for about 10 minutes or until tender.

3. Add potatoes, tossing well with oil and peppers. Cook for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and light golden brown.

4. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, beat together eggs, cheese, and salt.

5. Pour egg mixture over potatoes and peppers, stirring frequently. Cook until eggs are no longer runny.

6. Grab some fresh bread and dig in!

Buon appetito!

29 Beans of Wisdom to “What’s Cooking Wednesday: Potatoes, Peppers, & Eggs”
  1. Gil
    03.26.2008

    Sounds like the frittata that my wife made last night. Only she used potatoes, eggs and asparagus. We even had some halfway decent Italian bread from New York to go with it.

    Happy Spring!

    Yes asparagus is great too; I also like this with artichokes πŸ™‚

  2. Joanne
    03.26.2008

    Oooh, gotta love them southern Nonnas. My mouth is watering and I haven’t had breakfast yet!
    Unfortunately I’m stuck with vending machine brioche and cappuccino from a coffee machine –
    oh the joys of having breakfast in the office πŸ˜‰

    Joanne’s last blog post..Our Bicultural Breakfast, Hot Cross Buns and Colomba Pasquale

    Funny that I wouldn’t mind a cappuccino from a machine right now…my choices are go to the bar (not happening) or try to froth one up myself with a little handheld gadget. Coffee it is for me πŸ˜‰

  3. 03.26.2008

    I think P would love this! Thanks.

    Cherrye’s last blog post..Happy Easter and Buona Pasqua

    Hard to screw up too! That’s an added bonus!

  4. Mary
    03.26.2008

    This has always been one of my favorite dishes. Thanks for reminding me!

    Mary’s last blog post..Made in America – Shepherd’s Pie β€” Pasticcio del Pastore

    My pleasure; I always seem to forget about it too.

  5. 03.26.2008

    See, this is so South Philly to me. isn’t that funny? Pepper and egg with provolone on sourdough, baby! Yeah, and throw some potatoes in there too.

    Miss Expatria’s last blog post..Paris Flea Markets: Best Description Ever

    Of course it’s South Philly…who do you think lives there but the Calabrese πŸ˜‰

  6. 03.26.2008

    I often do this type of dish as a breakfast or dinner dish. I like to throw in whatever I have…like the kitchen sink πŸ˜‰

    I love making scrambles…you are right..they are less fussy than frittata or omlettes.

    Thanks for the recipe…and an idea for dinner tonight πŸ™‚

    My Melange’s last blog post..Plume Plume

    I love this for dinner! Enjoy!

  7. 03.26.2008

    Michelle, my recipes today reflected the Wijvenweek thing, so I was writing up a bunch of D’s fave recipes… it’s ironic, because I’ve never made this wonderful eggs, peppers and potatoes recipe of yours, but I’m certain that this would immediately become one of his favorites. Thanks so much for sharing!

    jen of a2eatwrite’s last blog post..Wijvenweek/What’s Cooking Wednesday: The Ideal Man

    What a fabulous coincidence! Hope you and Dave enjoy πŸ™‚

  8. i-Mommy
    03.26.2008

    I remember my Grandma making something like this for breakfast at family gatherings. I haven’t had it in years, but it is so easy and very tasty! I’ll have to try your recipe out on my kiddos and see if they like it as much as I used to. Thanks for sharing.

    Hope they enjoy it as much as you and I do πŸ˜‰

  9. delicious!

    nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..The Last Kiss remake, saying good-bye

    And simple too!

  10. 03.26.2008

    I have never tried this (or heard of it, for that matter!) but it sounds yummy so I think I will have to in the near future!

    I hope you give it a try Dory; it’s so fast, easy, and tasty!

  11. 03.26.2008

    Yo! Eggs an peppehz!

    Nice to see some real Pennsy food in here, along with the fancy-fancy stuff you post a lot of times…

    Paolo’s last blog post..Roberto Saviano meets Donnie Brasco

    So happy you approve…if only I could get Cheez Whiz up in here….

  12. 03.26.2008

    Thanks for visiting my blog.
    Thank you for the cake offer but I’m glad you did not bake it (I’m trying to lose weight.)
    I have a passion for cooking, so I’m pretty sure I’m going to visit your blog a lot.
    Those trees are beautiful, and I love figs.

    Rose’s last blog post..EASTER SUNDAY

    Hah! Virtual cakes don’t have calories Rose…you’re safe πŸ˜‰ Thanks for coming by!

  13. annie
    03.26.2008

    Sounds wonderful. I just made a potato and scallion frittata. I didn’t even think to put peppers in. I will next time though. Thanks for the idea!

    My pleasure Annie! I love scallions….

  14. 03.26.2008

    hmmm…i think i want to do this tonight, but saute the veggies separately and put a poached egg on top. delish.

    michelle @ TNS’s last blog post..When life gives you lemons, make orzo with goat cheese and spring veggies.

    Sounds great to me πŸ™‚

  15. Gil
    03.26.2008

    Forgot to mention the mozzarella. Probably go with your dish too.

    I don’t know if it’s just P or what, but we don’t really eat a lot of mozzarella around here outside of the summer and I tend to make this dish in the winter. But of course it’d be great in there…where *isn’t* mozzarella great?!

  16. That looks soooo great! When I was a little girl, there was a luncheonette down the street from my dad’s office in NYC. He used to take me there for lunch a lot and they always made this very same dish for us. We’d have it sandwiched between big slabs of crusty Italian bread. It was magic! Thanks for bringing back a wonderful memory.

    Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy’s last blog post..Homage to Spring: Pasta Primavera With Scallops

    So great on a sandwich…*so* fabulous! Happy to remind you πŸ™‚

  17. Wunschdenker
    03.27.2008

    Is it possible that *your* grandmother gave her recipes to *my* mother? ….maybe on those little recipe cards that say, “From the kithcen of___________” in the upper righthand corner?? Gotta be.

    I’m actually meeting a friend out tonite so maybe I’ll whip this up to eat with mio merito beforehand….gah, I’d forgotten all about these easy peasy (but gooood) recipes. Veilen Dank!

    I know, I’ve forgotten so many of these too! This is what happens when you’re looking at a nearly bare cupboard, Mother Hubbard, and start to think “What would Nonna/Mamma do?” Hee hee….

  18. 03.27.2008

    Too funny, that’s a standard “go to” recipe in my house. From when I was a child I can remember eating that on Fridays (no meat.)

    Minnie’s last blog post..How DID Y’all Meet? Part XI

    Definitely a great no-meat-Friday dish!

  19. 03.27.2008

    THis is the type of food I love. Fast, easy, delicious and adaptable. And yes, pass the fresh bread! YUM!

    Old-fashioned fast food…without the transfats!

  20. 03.27.2008

    Man does that look delicious. I somehow doubt the cafeteria here at my office has it on the menu.

    LDP’s last blog post..You Know You’re Getting Old When . . .

    Sorry LDP, hope you find something good anyway πŸ™‚

  21. 03.28.2008

    This looks really good, Michelle! Reminds me a of my dad’s breakfast standby of Bauernfrühstück, although he’d probably be hard pressed to write out a recipe for it, since it comes out slightly different every time.

    One dish that will always remind me of Calabria is fried potatoes, onions and peppers (without eggs). I don’t even know if it’s a Calabrian recipe, just that I learned it in a Catholic mission soup kitchen I volunteered at in Catanzaro. I made it obsessively for months at all hours of the day, but I haven’t thought of it in years. I need to make that again.

    pizzocalabro’s last blog post..Behind the Times

    Yes yes Pizzocalabro! In the “related posts” on the bottom of this one there’s a potatoes and peppers recipe–with onions of course. P just loves it, although I don’t think his mom ever made it–I introduced it to him from my ancestors’ 100-year-old kitchen πŸ˜‰

  22. 03.28.2008

    Hi! Here I am once again taking a look at your blog. Two reasons, at least, make me curious. First: the importance you give to food. I was born in Angola, and love to cook angolan cuisine specialties (hot hot hot), although I also love to prepare portuguese dishes. Second: Your american (if I’m not not), and was with an american friend that I first went to Italy. One again food is an issue! Due to that stay in Italy with her I discovered lots of different ingredients and learned something about the italian cuisine too.
    For me food is one of the most important cultural traits of a people. Everytime I travel I just long to try local dishes. Every people in this world has its own way of preparing items that virtually exist all around the world (with some differences), and the way they do it is culture! What they choose to eat and not to eat is also culture! And we all have an obligation to look at cultural differences more closely and without prejudice and… can you imagine a better way of start doing just that than the cuisine? Keep up. πŸ™‚

    Celso Rosa’s last blog post..O teu nome

    Great thoughts Celso Rosa–I agree that food is definitely the heart of every culture, and it’s always fascinating to see and taste all of the different cuisines and traditions. Definitely one way we can all come together as most of us *do* rather enjoy eating πŸ˜‰

  23. 03.28.2008

    P.S.: Once I was walking along a tiny street in Trastevere, Rome, and I passed a restaurante with a sign outside that said in italian something like this: I TRIED TO GO ON A DIET AND ALL I LOST WAS TIME… TIME… πŸ˜‰

    Celso Rosa’s last blog post..O teu nome

    Love it!

  24. 03.28.2008

    Oh dear friend! That is my favorite comfort food! Bless you. It’s as if we just sat in the kitchen and chatted over a delicious hot plate. Thank you.

    Irene’s last blog post..The Olympic Flame

    You’re quite welcome Irene; I enjoyed our chat too πŸ˜‰

  25. 03.28.2008

    mmm, I think I’ll make this for dinner!

    Janet’s last blog post..OMG the SPF is back!!!

    Enjoy Janet!

  26. 03.28.2008

    Alas, green peppers are completely indigestible for me, but substitute ripe, sweet, red bell peppers lightly pre-caramelized in that olive oil and you have a classic Sara dish as well. I can totally attest to its yumminess, and the heavenly scent with which it fills the kitchen. It’s good enough to get anyone out of bed, like those cartoons where people float in the air with their eyes still shut behind beckoning, finger-shaped tendrils of aroma that lead them by the nose right to the breakfast table.

    Also, I usually nuke/bake the potatoes first. We like ’em tender.

    Truth be told, I prefer this with red peppers too–love everything just a bit sweeter indeed. And yes, definitely a great smell to wake up to…note to P πŸ˜‰

  27. I made this last night for my family. I couldn’t stop thinking about it after reading your post. We made big fat sandwiches on Italian bread. I actually cried when I bit into it! πŸ™‚

    Susan at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy’s last blog post..Pistachio-Crusted Flounder with Minneola-Ginger Buerre Blanc

    Hah! That’s awesome Susan! Thanks for sharing πŸ™‚

  28. Goomba
    01.13.2009

    You know… i have no clue what i did last time, but my eggs come out looking like that space age ice cream stuff haha. Do you use onion in yours? I’m gonna make it tonight, i have a bunch of peppers and some potatos, i always forget about this! My husband’s family is from south philly so i usually see this in the foil pans at parties haha. Good go to though!

    Sometimes I sometimes use onions and sometimes not…I hope yours come out better this time!

  29. Ernestine(Tina)Quinn
    10.11.2010

    Michelle, thank you for posting. My mother and aunts made this on Friday allot, but i like some others here have remembered for the first time how it was also a “go to” meal when i was first learning to cook. This dish also makes me think of peppers and eggs and hot dogs! Yes, if it wasn’t Friday, the aunts would slice hot dogs or even strips of bologne, fried with the peppers first.
    Love your blog, especially the videos of Calabrian life.

    Thanks so much! I love adding sausage or hot dogs to the mix too πŸ™‚

Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake