Hash Brown Baskets with Baked Quail Eggs

Here's another fun recipe featuring quail eggs!

2 medium Idaho Russet potatoes

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon salt plus additional for serving

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

12 quail eggs

Freshly chopped chives for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the potatoes and prick each a few times with a fork. Bake the potatoes until they start to soften, but are not entirely done, for about 20 minutes. Let cool for about half an hour. (This can be done a day ahead of time.) Leave the oven on.

Grate the semi-baked potatoes with a hand-held grater; peel them first if you like, although it’s not necessary. Put the grated potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and butter into a bowl, and toss well to combine.

Spray a 12 mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. Using about 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture for each mini muffin cup, press the potato mixture into the muffin cups, making a well in the center and pushing the potatoes up and over the sides of the cup.

Bake the hash brown “baskets” for 20 to 30 minutes, until the undersides are a golden brown and the tops are at least light golden and starting to crisp around the edges. Again, leave the oven on. Remove the baskets from the oven. Carefully crack a quail egg into a small ramekin and slowly pour the egg into the basket. Repeat with remaining eggs. Put the muffin tin back in the oven for exactly 5 minutes; you want the whites of the quail eggs cooked, but the yolks still very runny. Use an offset spatula to put the hash brown baskets on a serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and chives and serve immediately.