Poblano Breakfast Potatoes

These Poblano Breakfast Potatoes are perfect for lazy mornings.  Chop 'em up, throw 'em in the oven, and 30-40 minutes later you'll  have a batch of scrumptious papas that will instantly rescue any grumpy heads in the house.

You can also use them as an alarm clock because the smell of roasting poblanos will act like a magnet for any morning zombies still hibernating.

Poblano Breakfast Potatoes

If you're new to poblano peppers you're in for a treat as they are easily one of the most versatile peppers in Mexican cuisine.   Here's how they stack up against jalapenos and serranos:

The number below each chili is their Scoville rating; this is essentially a gauge of their heat level.   As is usually the case, the smaller the pepper the hotter it gets -- notice how mild the poblanos are compared to the serranos.

Roasting the poblanos before use is essential as this gives them a rich, complex flavor that raw poblanos can't come close to matching.  There are numerous ways to roast poblanos but the oven is usually the easiest (and laziest).    And since we want to use the oven to bake our morning batch of papas this will double as the roasting period for the poblanos.  Perfect!

You'll need about 2 lbs. of potatoes for this recipe; for this batch that worked out to 2 large Russet potatoes.  Feel free to use other varieties if you don't have Russets on hand.

I tend to chop up the potatoes smaller than most as they'll cook quicker that way.  One way to get there is to cut them in half and then quarter them vertically.

I usually discard that outside sliver of skin to make chopping easier.  Somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" chunks seems to be the sweet spot for this recipe.

I like this dish best when the potatoes are the star so I usually  cut the poblano and onion a bit smaller than the potatoes.  Be sure to discard the poblano seeds.

Then it's just a matter of combining everything in a mixing bowl and coating it with a thin layer of oil.

So in the above pic you've got:

2 potatoes
1 poblano
1/2 onion
4 whole, peeled garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
a leftover sliver of red pepper that needs a home (not required)

I also add a pinch of this chili powder:

This is ground New Mexican chili that has some zing (more details on it here).  This is a good way to ratchet up the heat and make a more fiery batch but it's definitely optional.

Note:  lately I've been adding whole, peeled garlic cloves instead of mincing them up.  If you do this just remember to take them out after baking.

Spread this mixture onto a baking sheet.  The potato sides facing the pan will crisp up the most so try to spread them into an even layer as much as possible.

Keep in mind that parchment paper works great for cleanup purposes, as pictured above, but you'll get a slightly crispier batch if you cook them directly on the baking sheet (at the cost of an angry cleanup).  I guess it mostly depends on how you're feeling in the morning.  I think the parchment paper version still has great flavor so I usually default to using that method.

Bake them at 425F for 30-40  minutes, giving them a good stir about halfway through.  Here's what they looked like after 20 minutes.

Not pictured is the heavenly smell wafting through your house.

And another 20 minutes later (so 40 minutes total for this batch):

Nice!  Starting to wake up a bit?

Definitely take a final taste for salt level as they really come alive when properly seasoned.   I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch and they were delish.

Yes, these Poblano Breakfast Potatoes will work great in tacos or burritos, but to be honest I like them best when served up humbly next to some eggs and a few drops of Valentina.

What sounds good to you?

Buen Provecho.

Our latest recipe is a batch of epic Chicken Tacos.