Herbs de Provence Breakfast Potatoes

So my new favorite spice is Herbs de Provence.

Herbs de Provence is a classic herb blend using fresh or dried herbs. Very popular in the Mediterranean South of France, it is used to season everything from soups to grilled chicken. The traditional version uses lavender.

I made some stuffed pork chops the other night (to be posted soon) and used the Herbs de Provence as a dry rub on the chops and they were wonderful. I suspect I'll be using them with chicken very soon also.

The bottle of herbs I have is a combination of dried chervil, basil, rosemary, tarragon, garlic, lavender, marjoram, savory, thyme and parsley. Wow, what a combination.

As I was eating the pork chops it occurred to me I bet these would be good on potatoes also. But the first thing that popped into my head was breakfast potatoes. I have a pet way of making breakfast potatoes and I thought spicing them up with Herbs de Provence would be a great combination. Simply stated? Sigh, I was RIGHT! You got to try these, they beat the heck out of any other breakfast potato I've ever tried, and especially better than processed, frozen, potato hash browns and the like.

What's a bit different perhaps about this type of preparation, is first of all, you are using fresh potatoes. Secondly, by microwaving first you get rid of some of the inherent moisture and get them partially cooked. Then, they brown up perfectly because of the state of the potato. Have you ever grated or chopped or diced fresh potatoes, and find they either come out slimy, or not thoroughly cooked, or starchy? Microwaving first takes care of the moisture and the starch. Trust me. I mean I'm on the internet, it MUST be true, right?

Ingredients and Method:

large russett potato(s)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons herbs de provence
salt and pepper to taste

Eggs prepared to your liking to accompany

Take one or two large russett potatoes, wash under the faucet, pierce 2 or 3 times with a fork and microwave on high for 6 minutes if one potato, and 9 minutes if two potatoes.

Let potatoes cool for 5 minutes, and then cut into 1 inch rounds. Pick the skin off. It should come off fairly easily. Then, chop/dice the potatoes in whatever fashion you like. Here's what I like, I like a bunch of uneven chopping, some chunks, some smaller dice, even tiny pieces. Don't worry it'll come out fine.

Place 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and bring to medium heat. When butter is just beginning to brown, add potatoes to pan and spread out. Sprinkle with one tablespoon herbs, and let saute for about 5 to 8 minutes until one side starts to brown. Turn potatoes over, and sprinkle the browned side with the remaining herbs, and let brown for 5 minutes. Stir up potatoes in any manner to mix the herbs in well and continue to saute until they are as browned as you like. Add more herbs if you like. You can't hurt this dish, the more the better.

Serve immediately with the eggs of your choice. Obviously, add whatever you want to the potatoes, ketchup, hot sauce, whatever. But perfectly plain is fine. These Taters ROCK!

Enjoy!