For breakfast or as an appetizer, let these fun spring potato bites brighten your day with a potato basket loaded with vegetables and topped with a beet yogurt sauce.
Have you ever gone to a diner for breakfast and found yourself bored by the traditional menu? Bacon and eggs, toast and coffee with a side of hashbrowns. The same stuff we can make for ourselves at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out to breakfast – the smell of freshly brewed coffee, maple syrup and greasy bacon waifs into my senses like white on rice. And it’s nice to be out and let other people do the cooking and the clean up for me. What I really love though is going out to brunch– the word ‘brunch’ usually signifies to me that there will be not only a larger offering of food, but also a more unique selection. I love when restaurants get innovative with ordinary ingredients.
I wanted to come up with a creative recipe using potatoes, and while there are endless options for ways to cook, garnish and serve potatoes, I really wanted to concentrate on a brunch recipe, something you may find in a fancy brunch spot, something of a twist off the traditional eggs and toast. After all, potatoes are a perfect way to start the day. Did you know that one potato contains almost half of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C? Potatoes are also high in potassium and fiber while being low in calories.
However, making fancy dishes also implies a lot of time spent in the kitchen. A lot of time many of us don’t have, especially when we are hungry and impatient (sound familiar anyone?). I know in the morning when I wake up hungry I don’t have the patience to spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing some fancy breakfast, I just want to eat. However, with a little pre-planning, I have a recipe for you that is not only quick and easy, but also fancy. Egg and Spring Vegetable Potato Baskets.
In my recipe, I used asparagus and fresh parsley in my eggs, though you could really use any vegetables you may have in the kitchen. I used asparagus as it is in season now and I had some leftover from my dinner the night before, but other spring vegetables like peas, scallions and onions would be delicious as well.
I also made a pretty pink beet yogurt sour cream to dollop on each basket. I love to incorporate beautiful pastel hues into my food in the springtime.
The key to this recipe is to generously grease the muffin tin. The potato baskets are quite fragile once cooked and have the tendency to break apart while being taken out of the pan. However, the trick is to use a spoon to life the baskets out. There will be some breaking apart of the baskets but for the most part, they will stay in tact and be crispy. My baskets were not perfectly intact, but they were fun, unique and really tasty.
For another unique way to use potatoes, check out these truffles and find the recipe here.