Crispy Cheddar Egg & Potato Pancetta Casserole

Listen, I'm not usually the type to claim that a dish is going to change your life—mostly because my culinary skills peak at making toast without burning down the house. But this Crispy Cheddar Egg & Potato Pancetta Casserole? It's the exception that proves the rule. It's like if comfort food had a baby with gourmet cuisine, and then decided to invite crunchy textures to the party.

So, here's the deal. You're going to need a bunch of stuff from the grocery store. Yes, it sounds like a lot: eggs (because, duh, it's a brunch dish), pancetta (fancy bacon, for the uninitiated), potatoes, cheddar cheese (the more, the merrier), spinach (to pretend it's healthy), an onion, enough garlic to ward off a small vampire coven, some half&half, and bread crumbs. Oh, and butter. Because what is life without butter? I used gluten-free breadcrumbs that were already parading around with Parmesan like they owned the place, but you do you.

The process? Simple enough that even I didn't mess it up. You're going to cook some stuff, layer it like you're creating a culinary masterpiece (which, let's face it, you are), whisk some eggs as if your life depends on it, and then bake it until it's so deliciously golden that your taste buds start singing. Oh, and don't forget to throw some breadcrumbs into the mix because we're all about that texture, folks. It's like a symphony of flavors and textures in your mouth, and I'm not even exaggerating. Top it off with some fresh thyme if you're feeling extra, and voila, you've got yourself a dish that'll make your brunch crowd think you're the next Gordon Ramsay. Minus the shouting, hopefully.

Yield: 6

Author: Sippin Foodie

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Crispy Cheddar Egg & Potato Pancetta Casserole

If you need a brunch idea to serve a crowd, this is ideal. Another mouthwatering, addicting dish that will for sure be a crowd pleaser (I don’t say that TOO often). What really makes this dish amazing, is the crispy buttery bread crumb topping and the cheesy pancetta inside. It goes perfect with the soft potatoes, fluffy eggs and cooked spinach. You’ve gotta try this!

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

• - 8 large eggs
• - 2 cups chopped pancetta
• - 2 1/2 cups of small chunks of potato
• - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• - Spinach
• - 1 small onion
• - 4-5 Garlic cloves
• - 1 cup half&half
• - 2 cups bread crumbs (I used GF bread crumbs that were pre-seasoned with Parmesan)
• - 3 tbsp butter
• - Garlic powder
• - Salt & Pepper
• - (Optional) chili powder

Instructions

1. - Preheat oven to 400
2. - in a large frying pan, melt a tbsp of butter and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil on medium high heat. Add chopped onions, garlic cloves, small chunks of potato and cook while stirring occasionally for about 10 min until everything has softened.
3. - Add the pancetta, sprinkle with garlic powder, chili powder and salt. Mix together while cooking until pancetta is crispy brown (about 5 more min).
4. - Once everything is cooked turn heat off and set aside.
5. - Add handfuls of spinach to the baking dish until the bottom is fully covered.
6. - Add shredded cheddar cheese all over.
7. - Then add the pancetta potato mixture evenly on top of the cheese.
8. - In a large bowl, whisk eggs and half & half, and pour egg mixture all over the pancetta potato layer.
9. - Add more cheese on top of this.
10. - Then in the same frying pan, drizzle with olive oil again and add 2 tbsp of butter on medium heat. Pour the bread crumbs in and start stirring until the crumbs are browning.
11. - Pour the butter cooked bread crumbs over the pancetta layer.
12. - Bake at 400 for 25 min, then broil for two minutes Make sure you can stick a toothpick or fork in and it comes out clean before removing from oven.
13. - I topped mine with fresh thyme. Enjoy!

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