Hash brown watercress egg nests
Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes Serves: 8
These beautiful golden nests make a lovely breakfast or brunch treat and the peppery watercress marries perfectly with the salty bacon and rich egg yolk.
Pick up a bag of washed watercress from the salad aisle of your local supermarket and use any leftovers in your next smoothie or sandwich.
Ingredients
4 large white potatoes, peeled
110g Cheddar, grated
1 tbsp olive oil
8 medium eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices cooked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
½ tbsp. curly parsley, finely chopped
2 avocadoes, chilled
50g watercress
Method
Finely grate the potatoes and into a bowl then cover with cold water and allow to sit for a few minutes. Rinse in a colander and squeeze out any excess moisture before returning to the bowl. Add 100g of the cheddar and the olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix well.
Take an eighth of the potato mixture in your hand at a time and squeeze out any further moisture before pressing into the tin. Use your fingers to pack the mix in tightly. Try to encourage some bits of potato to stick up above the edges as this is what will make the finished products look like nests.
Bake at 190°C for about 20 minutes or until the edges have browned. Crack an egg into each nest the season with salt and pepper, then scatter over the chopped bacon and remaining 10g of cheese. Place back into the oven and cook until the egg white has set. Check after 10 minutes then regularly (every minute or so) to make sure that the yolks do not over-cook.
Allow the nests to cool in the tray, then gently slide a knife around the edges of each next before using a fork or small pallet knife to lift out of the pan.
Slice the avocadoes at the last minute then serve with the warm nests on a bed of watercress.