Vegetarian Irish Breakfast Baguettes

10/23/2022

Dublin's food scene was very similar to my hometown of Windsor, Ontario, in that there was every cuisine imaginable available to you. While I was unable to enjoy some of the traditional Irish dishes because of the focus on meat, I did get to enjoy a couple dishes that I had to take back home with me. The vegetarian Irish breakfast was one of those meals that I won't forget and still crave on occasion. Baked beans, hash browns, eggs, sometimes a little salad, fried mushrooms, potato farls, toast, ugh, there was so much variety that it made eating it both fun, and delicious.

A lot of the shops had sandwich bars in them that offered similar fillings for baguettes on the go. You'd find your typical toppings like lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, with some Irish inspiration coming from tuna with sweet corn and potato salad. One of my fave things to snatch on the way home after working nights at the hostel, was the breakfast baguette; it was was cheap, hearty AF, and the perfect food to eat after working all night.

They'd toast the loaf while they fried your eggs and then they'd slap it with butter. Next, some crispy hash browns followed by shredded Irish cheddar, a scoop of fried mushrooms, baked beans, those beautifully fried eggs, and some green onions. The baguette was perfectly toasty and every bite was like magic because you were getting a little taste of everything at once. For literally being a baguette shoved with carbs, it was my thang! Now, I'm going to make it for you guys so that you can understand what I'm talking about. It's perfect for a Sunday so that after you consume, the couch calls your name, and that's perfectly ok.

Irish Breakfast Baguettes

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 15 Min

Yields: 2 Large or 4 Small Sammies

WHAT YOU NEED

326g French Baguette
398ml British Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce
6 Large Free-Range Eggs
Hash brown Patties
2 Green Onions, sliced
1/2 C Vintage Cheddar, shredded
227g Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
4 sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
2 cloves Garlic, minced
Pepper Flakes
S & P

NOTES:
When I tested this idea, I used half of the baguette and just doubled everything for the recipe. You could cut the baguette in to 4 smaller sandwiches OR cut it in half and have two large sandwiches which is how I served it. If you want 4 large sandwiches, bake a second baguette and double the cheese, eggs, green onion, and mushrooms. You could just scale back on the beans to avoid needing two cans.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 F .
Add the can of baked beans to a small pot./ Cover and set to low to warm up.
Preheat a skillet to just about medium heat with the butter, garlic, thyme leaves, & a pinch of pepper flakes. Once heated, let the garlic sizzle for 30 seconds before adding the sliced mushrooms and a good pinch of sea salt & pepper. Stir and cook until mushrooms have caramelized to your liking. In the same skillet, drop in your frozen hash brown patties and let them get golden on both sides. Season with salt.
Place the baguette on a baking tray and slice it open. Sprinkle the cheese over the inside of the baguette and place it in to the preheated oven for 5ish minutes.

In the meantime, scoop out the mushrooms and hash browns & set them aside. Add some EVOO to the skillet and crack in your eggs. Season the eggs with salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until set, flip, and then quickly chop up the eggs with a spatula.
Remove the baking tray with the baguette from the oven. Add the hash brown patties along one side of the baguette followed by the fried mushrooms, shredded cheddar, scoops of the baked beans, and the fried eggs. Top with green onions and slice the baguette in to 2 large sammies or 4 smaller ones. ENJOY