Monday, February 28, 2011

A Better Breakfast

I think it's no secret by now that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.   So when I heard of the Build A Better Breakfast with Eggs contest put on by Kitchen Play and the American Egg Board, I knew I wanted to come up with something delicious to enter!


My inspiration came from a recent (delicious) brunch at Zaftigs.  In my take on their Empire Eggs, a potato pancake is topped with spinach, smoked salmon and a poached egg.  The restaurant intends theirs to be served with a hollandaise sauce, but I opted to let the runny yolk be the sauce.  My taste buds were swooning again, and I'm glad I can recreate this at home any time I want :)


Potato Pancakes w/Spinach, Smoked Salmon & Poached Eggs
Recipe by Shannon, inspired by Zaftigs
Yield:  3 stacks

Feel free to use your own favorite recipe for potato pancakes, or use the traditional frying method if you prefer!

For the potato pancakes:
1 lg potato (Mine was ~14oz and I left the peel on)
1 sm onion (I used a ~4.5oz white onion)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1t kosher salt  (I might cut this back to 3/4t next time)
1/8-1/4t freshly ground black pepper
1/4t smoked paprika
1/2t baking powder
3T flour (AP or white whole wheat)

For assembly:
handful of baby spinach
3oz smoked salmon
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 400deg.  Bring a large pot of water to just under a boil over medium heat.

Using a box grater or your food processor, shred the potato and onion.  Using cheesecloth (or towel), squeeze out all the liquid you can from the potato/onion mixture.

Once the potato/onion mixture is good and dry, transfer mixture to a medium bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Form mixture into 3 patties (~1/2cup each).

Heat a cast iron skillet (or your favorite nonstick pan) over medium-high heat.  Once the pan is good and hot, add bit of oil (extra virgin, canola, coconut...) and once that has heated up, the potato pancakes.  Cook the pancakes 3-4min/side.  At this point, they should have a good crust on them, but as I formed them a bit thick I put them in the oven for another 3-5min to make sure they were cooked through.  (These potato pancakes can be kept in a warm oven until assembly)

While the potato pancakes are cooking, begin poaching the eggs in the water (should be barely simmering).  Add a little bit of white vinegar to the water (I didn't measure, this is supposed to help keep the white together).  Crack an egg into a small dish or ramekin, and slowly add it into the simmering water.  If your pot is big enough, repeat with remaining eggs.  For a nice runny yolk, cook for 3 minutes.  Remove eggs from the water with a slotted spoon.  If you do this ahead of time, the poached eggs can be transferred to cold water until you're ready to serve.

To assemble, transfer potato pancakes to a plate, top each with a handful of spinach, 1oz smoked salmon and then the poached egg.  Served with fruit for breakfast or a side salad for lunch or dinner!




Don't you want to dig in?

23 comments:

Kitchen PLAY said...

My taste buds are swooning, too! What a fabulous flavor combination. I can't wait to try it.

Thanks for playing and good luck!

Best,
Casey

Lisa (bakebikeblog) said...

oh my - that drippy egg has me drooling!

Anonymous said...

That egg look so perfect on top of the potato pancake & smoked salmon, wow, an excellent breakfast for sure!

Elizabeth said...

This looks beautiful. I love potato pancakes. What a great breakfast.

Sarah said...

Yes I do!! It looks so delicious, what beautiful pictures you took! Potatoes, smoked salmon, and egg are one of the most scrumptious combinations in my opinion, and your recipe is easy and quick. I must try this for lunch soon- breakfast is my favorite meal too and I love it for any time of day.

Lauren @ Healthy Food For Living said...

Yes, I definitely want to dig in! I'm not a huge eggs-for-breakfast type of gal, but I would gladly set aside the sweet potato oatmeal I'm eating right now for this gorgeous dish. I love the stacked presentation, and the runny yolk negates the need to hollandaise. A great re-creation, for sure!

peachkins said...

fantastic photo!

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

Yum! I want some of this for breakfast NOW!

brandi said...

YUM! I cannot read your blog early in the morning anymore, Shannon! :)

This looks awesome!

Katie said...

I love Zaftigs! Great choice. This looks so delish. Smoked salmon is one of my go-to affordable but "fancy" breakfast items.

Kelly said...

Ooh. What a lovely combo shannon. You're definitely making me miss Zaftigs! You're also making me want to make Hollandaise. It's been so long since I had it. I made it a few weeks ago, or I should say attempted, but then got distracted by my dog and the whole thing became a big crazy mess. :-(

Lizzy said...

That looks like the perfect combination of all my favorite things. I love runny eggs!!

Natalie said...

love how bright those picturse are! yum!

Elina (Healthy and Sane) said...

Gorgeous! I love the runny egg as the "sauce" and that potato cake looks perfectly crispy. Yum!!

Joanne said...

Doesn't egg yolk just happen to be one of the most delicious things ever? And atop a potato pancake...that's what's meant by starting the day off right!

Shanae Branham said...

What a fun creation! My mouth is watering. I am glad I stopped by today. By the way, I have a contest giveaway on my blog you might find fun. Take a look. triumphandtears.blogspot.com

Christo Gonzales said...

beautiful egg dish - looks like a winner to me...

Jun said...

Yes, I want to dig in!

Delicious Dishings said...

This sounds amazing. It would definitely be my breakfast of choice. I can't believe I didn't see this when I went to Zaftigs.

MichellePC said...

I'm always looking for new breakfast recipes, and I'm an egg fiend. This looks so decadent!

Cara said...

My husband used to get something just like this at a breakfast spot in our college town - hence my creation of the "latke benny" a few months ago! love it :)

Kerstin said...

I still can't handle runny yolks, but the potato pancake sounds so tasty!

ChefJohn said...

If you're not serving on heated plates, people seem to enjoy this more if you 'nest' your greens a little. leaving the sides higher than the centre. This leaves a small 'low spot' in the centre for the egg and keeps a runny yolk from spreading all over the plate and solidifying before being eaten.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Blogging tips