My family loves a big Sunday breakfast – and I love yoga.  I used to love a big Sunday breakfast as well – that was until I found this class.  It is not so much the class, as much as it is the instructor.  She just has a nice way of making you work very hard – and I always leave there much more relaxed than I arrived.  Every once in a while though (and it really doesn’t happen very often), I get caught up doing things, and I miss my Sunday morning escape.  When that happens, I usually can’t help it but make a big breakfast.

Recently I have been looking for recipes without using a pastry crust.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good pastry crust, but it really adds a lot of time to whatever you are doing – and it is also just a little less healthy.  When I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, I was fascinated with the potato crust.  The problem with a potato crust is that you have to get the bottom nice and crisp – if it isn’t, it ends up being a soft soggy mess.  So, I decided to give it a whirl, and see if I could make sure the crust was crisp enough for my taste.  I ended up using the packaged potatoes purely to save time – and they turned out great.  The crust was fantastic – and the kids loved it – even with the spinach.  You can see by my picture that my eggs didn’t mix as well as they should have, but it tasted wonderful.  So this Sunday, make the family a big breakfast – and then take yourself to yoga afterwards as a treat.  Your family will be so happy, they won’t even miss you while you are gone!

Ingredients

Preparation

Position a rack in top third of the oven; preheat to 350°. Whisk eggs, cream, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 3/4 tsp. pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a 12” cast-iron or nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add sausages without the casings, and cook breaking into bits until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add leeks to skillet. Season with salt; cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, spreading out in an even layer. Cook without stirring until bottom and edges are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Slide potato pancake onto a large plate. Invert onto another large plate. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Slide potato pancake into skillet browned side up; cook until bottom is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Scatter spinach, leeks, and sausage over potato pancake, each in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper, then pour in egg mixture. Sprinkle cheese over.

Bake until casserole is puffed and golden brown, 35–40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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