Apple, Potato and Egg Bake

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I realized I wanted to try a different mix of flavours. While I know russet patatoes are better for baking than white patatoes, it was the latter  which I had on hand. I had just seen a recipe for carmalized apples as a filling for crepes and I though to myself, “What would apples together with potato taste like?"

This morning I was up long before sunrise and after checking out a few things on the web, I headed to my kitchen.

I grabbed a baseball size white potato, and a slightly smaller apple, it think the are courtlands, though you could use what ever type of apple you have a fancy for. Availability will vary in different parts of the world so take that into consideration. I rinsed off the potato and cut it into thin slices less than a quarter inch thick. I cleaned the apple of its core and few dinged spots on its skin after washing it and cut it into slices as well. I took my wonderful 6 inch cast iron skillet and put on the stove with a about a table spoon of olive oil in it, and got it warmed up with the heat on medium-low, while at the same time I preheated my oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. 

The first thing to go in were the apples slices wanted them to release some of their sugars, right after that I put the potatoe slices on top and mixed in about a cup of sliced and cleaned leek. I covered it for a wile so that the leeks would get soft. This was for about two minutes and I got out my cummin, turmeric and parsley flakes. Uncovering the pan I sprinked about a third of a teaspoon of turmeric, the same for the cumin, a dash of cayenne pepper. I mixed everything up and cooked it all for another four minutes or so, ensuring that all the ingredients were covered with the mixture of spices. Doing so gave all the ingredients a bit of a start regarding both cooking, and giving a change for their flavours together with those of the spices, a bit of time to interact.

Then I removed about six slices of potato, cracked two eggs over the remainging goods in my skillet, and covered the eggs with the potatos that I had removed just a minute before. Once that was done, it went into the oven and I should be taking it out in about 15-20 mintues after it went in. [This first section was actually written while it was all in the oven!]

Once it came out of the oven and I plated it, it looked like this:

Dish is 8.5 inches across
The potato used was a bit bigger than the one pictured.

 

Half an hour later

After enjoying my breakfast of the above there are some adjustments I would clearly make to make this a bit more of a flavourful dish. The first being would be to add a second small apple for the following reason. When I took a piece of apple, leek and potatoe together on my fork and placed it in my mouth the explosion and combination of tastes was really something different and I really enjoyed it. So in short the ingredients would be as follows and could easily serve two individuals who like a smaller breakfast.

1 potato – about the size of a baseball

2 small – apples

1 cup – clean and sliced leek so you have ringlets

2 medium – eggs

Extra virgin olive oil – 1 tablespoon

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1/3 teaspoon cumin

1/3 teaspoon of turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

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The instructions are the same as outline above while my meal was in the oven cooking. Don't be afraid to try different food combinations. Below is a table of what you get as nutritive value for what I am from now on going to call the APE Bake. The values below are approximations based on each ingredient included in the recipe. The last four values are estimations of my recommended daily allowance based on my own personal dietary needs, and are here only to serve as a guide.

Calories	691
Carbohydrates	94 g
Fat	25 g
Saturated	6 g
Polyunsaturated	3 g
Monounsaturated	13 g
Trans	0 g
Cholesterol	325 mg
Sodium	168 mg
Potassium	1861 mg
Dietary Fibre	11 g
Sugar(s)	4 g
Protein	20 g
Vitamin A	20%
Vitamin C	120%
Calcium	14%
Iron	60%

So if you have an idea of things that might go together, don't be affraid to try it. Now that I think back at my meandering mind of last night, I was going to use some cinnamon as well, as we all know how well cinnamon and apples go together! Oh well, there is always another day! This is not the first time that I have tried different combinations of types of food and have been surprised. Have a great weekend everyone! I know it is miserable outdoors but I have to get out for a walk, I will just have to dress approriately for the the weather!