This is a twist on the classic piperade recipe, also called Piperade Basquaise. It uses red and yellow bell peppers and spicy chorizo in place of the ham. A perfect gluten-free option for your next brunch!
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I don't remember how bell peppers came into my life. Growing up, I ate enough vegetables to make my mother happy, but not a great variety, and I certainly never ate them raw. I stuck to a rotation of peas, corn, broccoli and cauliflower... and I think that's it.
I believe my mother felt lucky that her child would even eat broccoli - if it had cheese on it that was a plus, but not required - so she didn't push anything else.
As I progressed through my teenage years, I began to try new things - mostly to impress my friends - nothing at all adventurous, but things I hadn't regularly eaten. Bell peppers appeared at some point in this process. Maybe it was via fajitas.
And then in college, my manager at the supermarket deli invited me to dinner and put raw ones in the salad and my life was forever changed.
Therefore: Piperade
what is piperade?
Piperade, or Piperade Basquaise, is a traditional dish from the Basque region, which straddles the northern border between France and Spain.
It is typically made with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and sometimes ham, and seasoned with pimente d'Esplette, a spice from the region. But you can kinda use what's in the cupboard, just letting the basic idea guide you, as you'll see from this recipe.
How to make Piperade
Adapted from Buvette, by Jody Williams
For this piperade recipe, I took inspiration from Jody Williams' Buvette cookbook, which adds chorizo to spice it up, and leaves out the tomatoes. And I doubled the amount of bell peppers that she called for, because they're just so good.
This a nice take on a gluten-free brunch casserole, as an alternative to stratas or other baked egg dishes.
This piperade recipe is great for a quick weeknight meal, "breakfast for dinner", or brunch for a crowd.
Coat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. I love my Lodge cast iron pan for this recipe. Add chorizo and cook until it begins to brown and get crispy, 5-10 minutes.
Add garlic, peppers and onions and cook until vegetables soften and begin to brown at the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Add a bit of salt to taste.
Add eggs to skillet, nestling them in with the peppers and sausage.
Heat the broiler and place skillet underneath until eggs until they are just past sunny-side up. Be sure to watch the skillet during this process as the broiler can cook things very quickly.
If you prefer, you can instead put these in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees until eggs are baked and just set. I like the broiler method because it doesn't heat the house and the cooking goes faster.
Remove skillet from the oven and season eggs with a bit of kosher salt and cracked black pepper.
What can I serve with Piperade Basquaise?
- Crusty French bread
- Fresh green salad
More recipes with eggs and chorizo
Piperade
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers thinly sliced
- 2 yellow bell peppers thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 8 ounces fresh chorizo
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil for the pan
- kosher salt to taste
- cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Add chorizo and cook until it begins to brown and get crispy, 5-10 minutes.
- Add garlic, peppers and onions and cook until vegetables soften and begin to brown at the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Add a bit of salt to taste.
- Add eggs to skillet, nestling them in with the peppers and sausage.
- Heat the broiler and place skillet underneath until eggs until they are just past sunny-side up. Be sure to watch the skillet during this process as the broiler can cook things very quickly. If you prefer, you can instead put these in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees until eggs are baked and just set. I like the broiler method because it doesn't heat the house and the cooking goes faster.
- Remove skillet from the oven and season eggs with a bit of kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Serve with toasted French bread and a fresh, green salad.
Notes
- Use fresh chorizo for this recipe, not dried. You can find it in Mexican markets and usually at the butcher counter. If you can't find it, us a spicy Italian sausage instead.
- You're only going to need one oven-proof skillet for this recipe. But make sure it's a large, deep one, because this is a lot of peppers! A cast-iron skillet makes a nice presentation to go from oven to table.
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