It is personally a challenge for me to make a potato dish without adding green chile especially during green chile season, and a challenge for which I gladly accept failure. Potatoes and green chile are two ingredients that are just meant for each other and that’s all there is to it.
This time of year, our Sunday brunch hash browns and home fries always get piled with green chile. One of my favorite versions of home fries is this Green Chile Home Fries with Leeks and Carrots dish. This dish makes a hardy brunch and is a great way to get your vegetables, carbs and protein. It is similar to the Southwestern Pileup, but the leeks and carrots provide a different flavor profile than the onion and bell pepper in the pileup, and still match up nicely with the chile. Once it’s ready to serve, top each serving with a fried egg and squeeze a little lime juice on top. And, if you still have some fresh, homegrown tomatoes, slice one up as a side or chop it up as another topping.
It may not be the prettiest dish, but it sure is good. I hope you enjoy!
A hearty breakfast or brunch of home fries cooked with leeks, carrots, and roasted green chile then topping with an egg (if desired).
*See Kitchen Notes for more information and related links.
- 1 pound potatoes, cut into 1/2″ cubes*
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 large leek, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano, crumbled
- zest from 1 lime
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup roasted, chopped green chile*
- Salt and pepper to taste
- wedge of lime
- 1 – 2 eggs per serving
- Fresh tomatoes, chopped or sliced
- grated Fontina cheese (optional)
Heat the oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and garlic. Simmer for 4 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add the potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
- Spread the potatoes and ingredients evenly in the skillet. Cover. Reduce heat to low and cook for 6 minutes.
- Remove the cover. Turn the heat up to medium. Cook another 4 – 5 minutes until the potatoes brown on the skillet side.
- Add the oregano and lime zest. Toss to combine.
- Continue cooking for another 4 – 6 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and evenly brown.
- Add the green chile. Toss and cook another minute.
- Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed.
- Reduce heat to warm while you fry the eggs. If you are adding cheese, add it now by distributing it evenly across the top of the potato mixture.
Fry 1 to 2 eggs – sunny side up or over easy* – per serving.
- Serve the potatoes onto plates. Squeeze a wedge of lime over each serving and top with an egg.
Potatoes – I’m a sucker for organic yellow potatoes, so that is what I usually buy. They are so creamy and cook faster than most other potatoes; therefore, if you use red or russet potatoes the cook times may be a little longer.
Amount of Roasted Green Chile – How much you use depends on the heat of the chile and how spicy you want the dish to be. With mild to medium chile, 1/2 cup or even more is good. Hot chile might need to be reduced depending on your heat tolerance.
Substitutes for Green Chile – If you don’t have New Mexico green chile handy, then you can substitute roasted fresh red chile, poblano, serrano, urfa biber, murupi amerela or any of your favorite freshly roasted chiles. If you happen to have some Green Chile and Lime Zest Relish on hand you could also substitute the green chile and lime with 1/2 cup of this relish. If you don’t have any roasted chiles, then just chop up a jalapeno or two, or add a chipotle pepper from a jar of chipotle in adobo sauce. As usual the type of chile you use contributes quite a bit to the flavor, so use what you like, but be careful not to overpower the wonderful flavor of the leeks.
A Parting Shot
For the 25 years I taught at the local community college the summer break was always the last two to three weeks in August, the perfect time to head to the mountains of northern New Mexico. Invariably, Bobby and I would pack up the backpacks and head out. One year, along with two of Bobby’s brothers, we packed the Santa Barbara Divide loop in the Pecos Wilderness. I thought I would share this beautiful view from the top of the northern most peak of the Truchas Peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, one of the mountains we climbed during this trip. No matter how easy or how hard the climb, getting to the top of a mountain is always worth the view.
A few of the ingredients that I carried on these trips were a potato or two, some grits, a can of spam and a few small cans of green chile. Do you see a couple of meals here? Invariably we had at least one or two mornings of grits and green chile. For supper, I would cook up some home fries with cubes of spam, chopped onion (which I always carried), and green chile. Not a dish I normally make at home, but a great dish after a long day of hiking.
For more recipes using New Mexico green or red chile, please see my Green Chile Recipes Index page.
Now this, is some tasty comfort eating! lovely x
Okay, I need to make this recipe. My hubby and I would love this recipe. I still have a few hatch chilies to roast. I do adore green chilies in a potato recipe! Fabulous, Hugs, Terra
Thanks Terra! So glad to hear that you have some hatch chiles where you are!
OMG this sounds so delish….potatoes cheese chile ..loved the combo and flavour….i bet it tasted great…
Thanks Gloria!
yeah something new for us to try. =)
Looks very appetizing MJ and I can imagine having this for dinner sometime.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Helene!
This is a fabulous combination of flavors! My husband would gobble this right up, especially with those chilies.
Thanks Jen! Always great to find another chile lover. 🙂
Carrots in the home fries is a different and clever idea.
Thanks Karen!
I love the sweetness leeks bring to dishes and these potatoes sure got the kick they needed!
Thanks Katerina! I’m with you on the leeks. Even though they are a member of the onion family, they still have their own unique flavor. Just love them!
I think potatoes need a little kick in them. Love love love potatoes with spices.
Thanks Peachy!
Sounds delicious, MJ! And I love the citrus-y sqeeze of lime as the finishing touch. Lovely.
Thanks Viviane! The lime does add a little zest to the mix. 🙂
Don’t ever fight the urge to add green chile! This looks absolutely wonderful. I want to come eat at your house, MJ!
You’ve got that right Valerie! 🙂 You are welcome here any time!
Love this recipe for breakfast pair it with some bacon then I am all sorted.
The chillies will be a good start for metabolism!
Thanks Raymund! Bacon is a great protein side. Mexican chorizo is a great choice as well.
Dear MJ, thank you for sharing your holiday memories with us! The green chile fries are one more exotic dish for me… but it’s so obviously good, I definitely must prepare it soon! And I have no idea how you have managed making fried potatoes look so gorgeous!
After my market trip I was chile-preserving today again 😉 I made fresh chile in oil (pepperoncini sott’olio) once more (we go through a jam-like jar a week now…); today I bought some habaneros too 😉 I also chopped and salted chiles the Sichuan way (they must ferment for two weeks at least alas…). I always think of you whenever I cook or preserve chile or even when I buy it 🙂 If you lived nearby we would have so much fun…
Thanks so much Sissi! I can’t tell you how much I would love to be able to be in the kitchen with you and bowls of different chiles! That would be be SO much fun! I’m going to be playing with some chile tomorrow. Think you could take the red eye and fly over. 🙂
I think the dish does look wonderful and hardy, very fall like. Wow look at the view from that pic!
Thanks Evelyne! Pretty amazing view isn’t it? 🙂
MJ’s my boys would go wild over this dish! Potatoes, chilis and cheese. Now if that is not a teenager favorite, I don’t know what is! Topped with a sunny side egg of course… I bet this dish would even be tastier at 13,024 feet. Love that photo and great view. Have a super weekend and take care, BAM
Thanks Bam! Oh yes – I would agree that any teenager, especially growing boys, would enjoy this dish!
I am a potato hound. I can resist putting green chilies into every batch, but what a great idea. I eat potatoes all kinds of ways. They make me full without overeating. I looked at that photo and was getting out my pan to make some eggs too.
Gosh what a gorgeous view! I love seeing photos from your area.
Thanks Carol! You’re right that it doesn’t take many potatoes until you feel full.
I love this potato dish – and I agree, it’s just about impossible not to add chiles to potatoes. Your photos are just gorgeous, both of the food and the Sangre de Christo Mountains. Just gorgeous.
Thanks so much Susan. The view made the mountain top easy. It was gorgeous!
You think this doesn’t look good??? Oh goodness – this plate of potatoes combined with leeks and garlic and cheese and topped with that fried egg is making me wanna crawl through the screen – it looks so delicious and sounds heavenly – my idea of comfort food!
Thanks so much Shashi!
I am so glad you just admit defeat and pile on the green chiles. LOL. Love the retro hiking pic. My dad has a place in CO near this range.
Yep – that’s one of those defeats I can live with. 🙂 Thanks!
These fries sound like a wonderful change from your average fries, they look flavoursome of course, but I would never have thought of putting leeks and carrots with them! 😀
Great idea!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru! The leeks and carrots are actually quite good.
Potatoes and green chile – I believe you! Potatoes are always my favorite dish, and I must try your way! I love the picture on the top of mountain. I used to enjoy climbing the mountains…be in the nature… I miss those days. The crisp air… ahhh I wish I could tag along with you guys. 😀
Thanks Nami! I miss the days of climbing mountains as well. Now we drive to the top. 🙂 The air is so clean in the mountain and, unless there is a thunderstorm (which are really cool), is so quiet. Love it!
Oh! This sounds really delicious. Love the combination of ingredient. Yum!
Thanks Joyti!
I could not resist those potatoes and would be sorely tempted to eat anyone’s leftovers.
Then I saw that brilliant mountain shot – how cool to get to the top. Did you cook at the top or on the way down? 🙂
Thanks Maureen! No we didn’t cook at the top. Our camp was set up at the bottom, down by some beautiful lakes, so we did all our cooking there. The campsite was around 12,000 ft, so still pretty high.
Potatoes are the perfect backdrop for green chiles. I love the addition of leeks instead of onions and carrots for a little sweetness. I ordered a dish that was supposed to be similar to this one time in a café in Canton, Texas, but search as I must, I only found 3 tiny pieces of green chile. What a bummer. The chile was the only reason for ordering it. When I make this, and I will, I plan on piling on the chiles.
3 pieces of chile? Well that’s just disgraceful! Whoever made that dish should be ashamed of his or her self. And you are so right – the chile makes it; otherwise it’s just potatoes. I hope you enjoy it with LOTS of chile!
A very satisfying and delicious potato recipe, MJ. I love the add of roasted chillies.
Thanks so much Angie!
This version of potatoes sounds so delicious. So full of flavors…my Indian palate is going to love it 😉
Thanks so much Taruna!
What a stunning view of the mountains MJ – and I couldn’t agree with you more, there’s nothing better than reaching the summit. The reference to spam made me smile — my husband (a rock climber, sailor and adventurer) resurrects the versatility of spam in our conversations every now and again :). Personally, I think your home fries are very pretty (especially like the second shot) the leek and carrot really dresses it up but, let’s face it, we’re in it for the chile ;-). Delicious, sunny dish.
Thanks Kelly! I think Spam is a love or hate thing. The ONLY time Bobby would ever eat it was on backpacking trips, but try to serve him Spam at home – no way. As for me, I’m with you husband – Spam is a very versatile food product. 🙂
I like the flavor combinations, I usually use hot sauce and just onions, looking forward to the change with chiles, and leeks.
Thanks Joan! I understand the hot sauce. Growing up in Louisiana hot sauce and potatoes were the traditional way especially if the hot sauce was Tabasco. You know, you can always use both. 🙂
So delicious looking MJ – love hatch chilies when we can get them, and potatoes and chilies are a favorite flavor combo! Thanks!
Thanks Donalyn!
I really love home fries the traditional way with onion and bell pepper. I suspect that green chilis would put this classic potato dish over the top! As always you inspire me to use more chilis, MJ!
Thanks Bill!