I never even knew about Potatoes O’Brien until I tried them at my mother-in-law’s house. I was crazy about the flavors from the first bite. I’ve often made my breakfast potatoes with green onions added in. But there’s just something extra good about the flavor the bell pepper adds. Traditionally there’s both red and green bell peppers in these breakfast potatoes. However, I’ve never been the big of a green bell pepper fan, so I went with all red in this version.
My first experience with green bell pepper wasn’t a great one, and I’ve never really moved past it. I was around 5 years old when my Grandmother insisted that I have a taste. She loved them to the point where she’d eat them sliced up as an apple.
However to my young taste buds, even the smell was repulsive. Not to be deterred, she insisted until I tried it, which I’m sure you can see it coming that I was not a fan! Over the years, I’ve kept trying them, hoping that someday my taste buds will change their mind. And while I don’t find them repulsive anymore, I’m still not exactly a fan.
Anyway’s you can always add them if you’d like to this recipe, just split the amount called for 50/50. I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes for all my breakfast potatoes. I find Russets to be a little too dry. And any type of red potato to have too much moisture for proper crisping.
I’m not sure of the traditional way to cook Potatoes O’Brien, but I like to reserve the bell pepper and green onions until halfway through the cooking time. That way they retain some of their texture and flavor, instead of melting into the potaotes.
Our favorite way to serve these for breakfast is topped with over easy eggs. I get super serious about the over easy part, and I always have everything else ready before the eggs go into the pan. That way, I focus solely on cooking the eggs perfectly so there’s ample amount of yolk to run into those crispy potatoes. Really… it’s the little things in life! 5 from 1 review
