Potato Cups . . . filled with scrambled eggs

     Wanted something different for a brunch so I experimented with potato cups. I’ve made them a couple of times now and think I have the recipe figured out. I started with baked potatoes and first tried grating them – that worked but it was messy. “Ah ha,” I thought, “Why not use our ricer?” That worked even better.

    Two things seemed to make a difference – the cups need to be fairly thin – just about 1/8” and patted as evenly as possible. Also I played around with baking times – the ideal is to have a nicely browned cup that holds up but is not so crunchy that it hard to eat! 

     Although I made mine in custard cups, muffin tins would work, too.

     I filled them with scrambled eggs and topped them with cheese and crisp, crumbled bacon. Hmm . . . wonder what else would be good in these?

Potato Cups

Olive oil

Baked potatoes, with peels removed

Salt

Pepper

1.     Brush custard cups with olive oil.

2.     Either grate the potatoes or run through a ricer.

The ricer (in the background) created shredded potatoes in just seconds.
(I used the largest holed disc that came with the ricer.)

3.     Using your hands, press potatoes along the inside curvature of the custard cup (I used a little less than ¼ cup of potatoes), making sure that the potatoes are only about 1/8” thick and evenly distributed.

4.     Brush the potatoes lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5.     Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes – potato cups should be nicely browned and should also pull away from the cups.

6.     At this point either . . .

a.     fill with scrambled eggs and top with cheese and crisp, crumbled bacon and serve, or

b.     cool, refrigerate and when ready to use, heat briefly and then add the scrambled eggs and toppers. I actually did them right before my guests arrived and then set the filled cups in the oven (set on warm) and served them about 15 minutes later.

Although these are ready to serve, I put them back in the oven (on warm) until I was ready to serve brunch.

About Scrambled Eggs – I once read (in a brochure from the Egg Council) that it was better to add either no liquid or a little water to scrambled eggs rather than use milk, which they said could cause the eggs to become watery. I tested that idea and it seems to be true.

When I made the scrambled eggs for the cups, I began by sautéing onions and peppers in olive oil, then added beaten eggs (I used no liquid). As they cooked, I added a little Cheddar cheese and cooked the eggs just until they were creamy. All of this took place on medium heat.

Brunch is served!

Recipe without photos . . .

Potato Cups

Olive oil

Baked potatoes, with peels removed

Salt

Pepper

1.     Brush custard cups with olive oil

2.     Either grate the potatoes or run through a ricer.

3.     Using your hands, press potatoes along the inside curvature of the custard cup (I used a little less than ¼ cup of potatoes), making sure that the potatoes are only about 1/8” thick and evenly distributed.

4.     Brush the potatoes lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5.     Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes – potato cups should be nicely browned and should also pull away from the cups.

6.     At this point either . . .

a.     fill with scrambled eggs and top with cheese and crisp, crumbled bacon and serve, or

b.     cool, refrigerate and when ready to use, heat briefly and then add the scrambled eggs and toppers. I actually did them right before my guests arrived and then set the filled cups in the oven (set on warm) and served them about 15 minutes later.