Gluten-Free Breakfast

Here’s another recipe for International Allergy Awareness Week. I love Eggs Benedict so it was great to invent a recipe that is just a good, but without the bread. The gluten-free biscuits hold their own in flavor and texture to any biscuit. Plus, I’m sharing a family recipe for hash browns that you’ll love.

EGGS NOREEN

This is a breadless variation on Eggs Benedict and the bacon is optional, but I do recommend it. The ingredients are for just one serving. Multiple by the number of servings you want and adjust for quantity.

1 locally grown egg
1-cup fresh spinach
1 to 2 pieces bacon (optional)
2 to 3 slices ripe tomato
2-tablespoons gruyere, cheddar or jack cheese
Dash ground red chili pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Poach the egg in a small, buttered pan with about three inches of water and 1-tablespoon of a mild vinegar. As the egg poaches, fry the bacon, wash and chop the spinach, and grate the cheese. When the egg is almost done, briefly sauté the spinach. Place the sautéed spinach in the bottom of a shallow bowl about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Put two to three slices of tomato on top of the spinach. Drain the poached egg and place on top of the tomatoes. Season the egg with salt and pepper taste. Sprinkle the egg with grated cheese and crumbled bacon. Top with a dash of red pepper.

PERFECT HASH BROWNS

The secret to perfect hash browns is to use cold baked potatoes. Bake the potatoes the night before and refrigerate them.

1 to 2 baked potatoes
1 to 3 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Grate the baked potatoes. Melt 1-TBL butter in a cast iron skillet. Distribute the grated potatoes on the pan thinly. Fry the potatoes slowly on low heat and dot with butter on top as they cook. Cook only on one side. Remove from pan when the bottom is browned and the top is cooked through.

GLUTEN-FREE BISCUITS

Finally, a biscuit that is wheat and gluten free and yet tastes great. It has a sweet taste so it best with butter, jam and honey. It’s also good with nut butters and to make small sandwiches. And, it’s perfect for strawberry shortcake.

2 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2-tablespoons sugar, honey or agave nectar
5-tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits.
1-cup buttermilk (Shake well.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, two knives or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and stir together with your hands just until a soft, sticky dough forms. With you hands, drop dough in 12 mounds about 2 inches apart onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from pan at once and cool on a wire rack or waxed paper on the counter.

For another gluten-free breakfast, see No Allergy Breakfast.

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Peggy O’Mara is the editor and publisher of peggyomara.com. She was the editor and publisher of Mothering magazine from 1980 to 2011 and the editor-in-chief of Mothering.com from 1995 to 2012.. The author of Having a Baby Naturally; Natural Family Living; The Way Back Home; and A Quiet Place, Peggy has conducted workshops at Omega Institute, Esalen, La Leche League, and Bioneers. She is the mother of four and grandmother of three.