Skillet Potato and Egg Torta
Sliced potatoes fried down with garlic and chili, then set with eggs in one pan.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 38
- protein
- 16 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 8 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 28 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Potato | 1 large | sliced into thin rounds at home |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic | 1 clove | diced |
| Chili | 1/2 | thinly sliced, or leave it out |
| Ground cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Paprika | 1/2 tsp | |
| Tomato | 1 | diced; a drained half-can works too |
| Onion | 1/2 small | diced |
| Eggs | 3 | whisked in a cup before they go in |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Heat the oil in a wide pan and lay the potato rounds in one layer. Fry until the underside browns, then turn them.
- When both sides have color and the slices give to a fork, add the onion, garlic, and chili. Two minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Add the cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat and fry a minute so the spices bloom in the oil.
- Add the tomato and cook it down another minute or two until it stops being watery.
- Pour the whisked eggs over everything and drop the flame to low. Cover the pan with a lid or foil.
- Take it off once the top is just set. Cut into wedges and eat out of the pan.
This is a one-pan Spanish tortilla done the lazy way: no flipping, no plate trick, just a lid and low heat until the eggs set. The potatoes do most of the work and they need the full browning time before anything else joins them, because nothing later in the pan will cook them through.
The spices go in dry, straight into the hot oil, before the tomato. That minute matters. Cumin and paprika are fat-soluble, and dumping them into a wet pan gives you dusty potatoes instead of a coating. It needs a cooler for the eggs and potato, so it belongs to car camping and basecamp rather than a pack.
Packing
Slice the potato at home and keep it in a bag with a splash of water so it does not brown. Premix the cumin, oregano, and paprika in one small tin. Eggs travel best cracked into a bottle in the cooler.
Variations
- An ounce of hard cheese over the eggs before the lid goes on.
- Swap the fresh tomato for a drained can and this holds for a second night out.
- Cilantro or parsley over the top if you have herbs that survived the drive.
https://thevanabondtales.com/van-life-breakfast-recipes