southern style breakfast casserole

How to make southern style breakfast casserole recipe - A classic American brunch dish, but a relative newcomer to European tables, this is quick to assemble, and delicious.

SERVES 4–6

PREP TIME 15 mins, plus resting, COOK TIME 40 mins

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
7oz (200g) spicy pork sausage meat
butter, for greasing
3 1⁄2oz (100g) stale baguette or other coarse white bread, crusts removed and cut into 1⁄2in (1cm) cubes
4 scallions, finely sliced
1 large ripe tomato, skinned, seeded, and chopped
1 jalapeño or other mild green chile, seeded and finely chopped
2⁄3 cup grated sharp cheese, such as cheddar
6 eggs
1⁄2 cup half-and-half
1⁄2 cup whole milk
1 tsp smoked paprika or ancho chili powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1 Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan. Add the sausage meat to the pan and cook, chopping it up with a spatula, turning it over, and stirring until it is broken into large lumps and is well browned on all sides. Remove the pan from the heat.

2 Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease a 10in (25cm) flameproof casserole with the butter. Spread out the bread in a single layer in the dish, then evenly scatter over the sausage meat. Sprinkle over the scallions, tomato, and jalapeño, then top with the cheese.

3 In a bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, half-and-half, milk, and smoked paprika and season well. Pour the egg mixture evenly into the dish, then set aside to rest for about 15 minutes.

4 Bake the casserole in the oven for 30–40 minutes until puffed up and golden brown and a skewer, when inserted, comes out clean.

southern style breakfast casserole