Recipe: Baked Eggs with Spinach, Mushrooms and Cheese (using deli ham, baked in a muffin pan)

BAKED EGGS WITH SPINACH, MUSHROOMS AND CHEESE



FOR THE MUSHROOM DUXELLES:
3 tablespoons butter
4 cups diced (1/8 inch) cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup diced (1/8 inch) shallot
2 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoons sherry
Salt

FOR THE SAUTEED SPINACH:
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon diced (1/8 inch) shallot
4 cups spinach, stems removed
Salt

TO FINISH:
8 slices deli ham
1/2 cup crumbled Tonjes Farm Dairy Rambler cheese (a raw cow's milk cheese similar to aged cheddar)
8 eggs

TO PREPARE THE MUSHROOM DUXELLES:
Melt the 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the rest of the mushrooms and continue cooking until golden brown, another 10 to 12 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup diced shallot and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the thyme and sherry and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

TO PREPARE THE SAUTEED SPINACH:
In a medium saute pan, melt the 2 teaspoons butter over medium heat. Add the 1 teaspoon shallot and sweat until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach and saute until wilted. Season with salt to taste.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
8 slices deli ham
1/2 cup crumbled Tonjes Farm Dairy Rambler cheese
(a raw cow's milk cheese similar to aged cheddar)
8 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line 8 of the wells of a muffin pan with the slices of ham, treating them like muffin liners. Divide the sauteed spinach among the 8 wells and top with the mushroom duxelles. Distribute the cheese evenly, and then crack an egg into each well.

Bake in the oven until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 11 to 13 minutes. Rest for a few minutes before gently removing the baked eggs from the muffin pan with a small offset spatula.

Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Ten Speed Press
Adapted from source: I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes by Daniel Humm