Hashbrown Breakfast Bake

Breakfast brownie points anyone?

I’m not much of a breakfast person during the week, but I do love a lazy weekend brunch.

You can see here I’ve made two versions.  I couldn’t decide which to put on my blog, so I thought I’d let you choose which one you fancy.
You need the same amount of ingredients for either type.  This makes 12 cupcake/muffin sized hashbrown cups or 1x25cm large hashbrown.  It’s a good job I did make two, the four of us managed to polish off the small hashbrowns earlier on, and the kids (and hubby) were waiting with their forks the moment the pictures were done for the large cake 🙂

Hashbrown Breakfast Bake (serves 3-4):

Ingredients: 

• 600g white or red skinned potatoes
• 1/4 tsp vinegar (any kind is fine)
• 2 tbsp olive oil plus a little extra for brushing the baking tin
• Good pinch of salt and pepper
• 4 eggs (1 to bind the potato mixture and the other three to serve as part the Hashbrown bakes(s)
• 6 rashers of streaky bacon (it’s better if these are a bit fatty)
• 8 mushrooms – sliced
• 1x400g tin of baked beans (check these are gluten free if you’re gluten intolerant)
• Black pepper and a couple of chopped chives to garnish

Equipment:

• Food processor with a grater attachment (failing that, a grater will do, but will be harder work)
• 1x25cm loose bottomed flan tin or a 12 hole muffin tin (made of metal, not silicone)
• 3 round metal egg rings (only need this if you’re making the large hashbrown)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190c.  Peel and grate the potatoes using a grater attachment on a food processor.  As you’re shredding the potato, place it in a bowl of cold water with the 1/4 tsp vinegar (this prevents the potato going brown).  Once all of the potato is shredded, drain and squeeze out the excess water, then pat dry with some kitchen roll.  Place in a large bowl and mix in the olive oil, salt and pepper and 1 egg.
2. Brush the flan/muffin tin with oil to prevent the potato sticking.  Split the potato mixture between the muffin holes (or place the lot in the flan tin if using).  Squish the mixture in and try to make a bit of a dip in the middle, working the potato up the sides of the tin.
3. Put the potato in the oven to cook.  Check it after 10 minutes, and put a bit of tin foil over if the edges of the potato are going too brown.  Give it another 10 minutes if you’re making the small ones, or another 15 minutes if making the large one.
4. After the potato has been in for a full 20-25 mins, you can add the egg.
   For the small hashbrowns:
   *Break an egg into a small dish.  Carefully spoon out the yolk into one of the Hashbrown cups, then spoon over some of the egg white.  You don’t want it to flood the hashbrown cups, so it’s unlikely you’ll need all of the egg white.  Repeat with the other two eggs.
   For the large Hashbrown:
   * Press the egg rings slightly into the potato and break the eggs into the egg rings
5. Place the hashbrowns back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  If your potato is looking like it’s going to get too brown, then put the tinfoil back on top.  Make sure the tin foil isn’t touching the egg as it will stick.
6. Whilst the potato is cooking, heat up a small frying pan and fry the bacon rashers on a high heat.  Once cooked, scoop out the bacon, and fry the mushrooms in the rendered bacon fat.  Heat up the beans in a separate pan.
7. Take the hasbrowns out of the oven and very carefully scoop out of the muffin tin onto a plate (if using the flan tin, then carefully release the base from the tin, run a palate knife between the hasbrown and the base of the tin and gently slide onto your serving plate.  Then run your knife around the egg rings and gently release them).
8. Spoon over the mushrooms, beans and bacon, then sprinkle with a bit of black pepper and some chopped chives to serve.

Tip If you want to add bacon to the potato mixture itself, you can do it at step two.  Just add a couple of rashers of raw, chopped bacon into the tin before spooning the potato in.  The bacon needs to be touching the the metal of the tin to ensure it gets crispy.

This one didn’t even make it onto separate plates!!!