I was recently given this cool, heart-muffin, ceramic baking dish.
I immediately knew I had to use it for one of my Mother’s Day brunch recipes! 
You see, my mom likes this shade of blue, hearts are all about love, and I adore creating small, individual servings that beautifully incorporate a layering of flavors for special meals.
Little works of art, if you will.
(And I hope you will!)
Each layer in these hearts could be a dish unto itself! 
When you put them together, well, it’s a delicious explosion of flavor!
And so very pretty!
I think brunch is the perfect Mother’s day meal. Brunch happens all too rarely, and I think taking a break late morning to share a meal with people we care about is lovely and relaxing.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13th!
- About 4-1/2 cups grated Idaho Russet Potatoes about 2 pounds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 14 eggs
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
- 8 cups packed spinach leaves about 10 ounces, washed and dried
- 1/2 cup grated Gruyère cheese
- 6 very thin slices of prosciutto cut in half horizontally
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and use a pastry brush to grease a 12-cup muffin pan with olive oil. Set aside.
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Use a food processor fitted with the grater attachment -- or a hand held grater -- to grate the potatoes. (The former is easier if you have it!) Then use your hands to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the potatoes. Potatoes have a very high water content, so you'll be surprised at the quantity of liquid; you can actually "wring out" the potatoes!
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the potato with the olive oil, thyme, Parmesan, salt and 2 of the eggs.
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Add the potato mixture to a large sauté pan and cook it over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. This is just to make the potatoes slightly tender. (Don't wash this pan - you'll need it again!)
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Add about 1/3 cup of the potato mixture to each greased muffin cup, using your fingers to mold it along the bottom and edges as you go.
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Place in the pan in the preheated 425 degree F oven until the edges are beginning to brown, about 7 to 10 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 375 degrees F, and continue to bake the potato crusts until they become more golden brown, about 10 more minutes. (Keep the oven on at 375 degrees F after you remove them.)
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During the time the crusts are baking, coat the same large sauté pan you used for the potatoes, with olive oil and place it over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft, about 4 minutes. Then add the spinach, in two batches, cooking it just until it's wilted. Mix in the Gruyère and season generously to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
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When the potato crusts are done, gently place a piece of prosciutto into each one.
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Add about one tablespoon of the spinach mixture on top of each prosciutto slice.
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Carefully crack one of the remaining 12 eggs on top of each one.
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Bake in the preheated 375 degree F oven just until the eggs are cooked, about 15 minutes, depending on how you like them!
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Wait about 10 minutes before removing them from the pan. Then use a sharp knife to gently go along the edges of each one and it should easily come out.
Of course you can use a regular muffin pan for this recipe! (I'd go with hearts for Mother's Day, if you happen to have one, though!)
If you want to cut the prep time down, you can layer this is a 9 X 13 X 2-inch baking pan.
On menus, eggs Florentine often refers to spinach as being a substitution for ham, in Eggs Benedict, for example. We're using all of it! And I think the name has a nice ring to it!
Soooo pretty, Valentina. I would love it if someone would cook these for me! ; )
Glad I got to see you at camp this weekend – Hope to see you again very soon!
The hearts are super cute, but do they hold together when you turn them out? Just wondering, as in all of the photos they’re still in the moulds 🙂
Excellent question, Justin! Yes, they hold together. The images of them out of the mold didn’t quite match the look of the cool heart pan, so I decided not to add them — BUT, since you asked, I’m going to edit them in right now! 😀 Enjoy! They really are delicious!
It is very pretty dish. And I love the brunch recipe. It is always hard for me to come up with individual dishes for brunch, I will keep this in mind. Now I have to hunt for a heart-shaped dish like this 🙂
Thank you, Ilke! They’re also cute as rounds in a regular muffin pan. 🙂
This recipe looks delicious. I may have to drop a subtle hint and have my son make it for me this weekend. LOL
Every couple months, a bunch of girlfriends and I get together for what we call “boozy brunch”. The host makes brunch, and everyone else brings champagne. I’m making this for them tomorrow! One question – do you think sweet potato would work just as well?
Hi Stefani! Great question — the starch content of sweet potatoes is very different, so while I think it will still be delicious the texture will be different and I’m not sure it will hold it’s shape as well. Have an excellent brunch! I love it!
Thanks Valentina! I’ll stick with the russet potatoes. And I’ll make sure that we toast you and your delicious recipe!
Just to follow up…. the recipe was a huge success! Everyone had seconds. Thanks so much!
Yay, Stefani! I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
WoW. I want to have breakfast now!!!!!