Prosciutto Egg Cups

Prosciutto (also known as parma ham) is a dry cured ham that is thinly sliced.  Due to the curing, prosciutto can take anywhere from 9 months to 8 years to make!  It is sweet and delicately salted.  This tasty Italian ingredient works as a with just a breadstick and

When visiting my family, I made an Italian fusion breakfast with a healthy twist: baked eggs with prosciutto served on a quinoa cake.  (I would have melted parmesan on the quinoa cake, but I needed to save the parmesan for homemade pizza.)

Cooking the eggs in the "prosciutto cups" was simple, especially since this was a one-pan recipe.  I was worried that one of the egg cups was going to completely fall apart when removing them from the pan, but that was not the case.  They were much sturdier than I expected, which is why I put them on top of the quinoa cake.

These "breakfast cupcakes" would be a great, surprisingly elegant recipe when you have company, especially since it takes one pan!  Enjoy this Italian twist on "eggs and ham."


Prosciutto Egg Cups
(Yields 6 servings)

Ingredients:
6-8 slices of prosciutto*
6 eggs
1 cup shredded Italian cheese (I used a combination of Asiago and provolone because they melt well)
2 scallions, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Italian herbs (oregano, basil, etc.), optional

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Prepare muffin pan by spraying each "cup" of muffin pan with cooking spray.  Line each well cup a slice of prosciutto.  Prosciutto is thin and can tear easily, so don't be worried if you need to throw in an extra slice for patching.  (Trust me, nobody will complain about more prosciutto.)

After cups are lined with prosciutto, sprinkle about 1 tbsp. of cheese in the bottom, and sprinkle some Italian spices over the cheese.  Crack an egg into each cup.  Dust salt and pepper on top of egg, if desired.  Carefully arrange remaining cheese around egg yolk, and sprinkle with scallions.

Bake for 12 to 18 minutes.  12 minutes will leave you with a runny egg.  15 minutes will leave you with an egg that is more set but still runny.  18 minutes will leave you with a fully set egg.

After removing from the oven, run a butter knife around the edge of the cup, and use that or a spoon to wedge the cup out onto a plate.

* Note: Prosciutto is very thin, and it tears easily when removing it from the package.  You may need an extra slice or two of prosciutto to "patch the well" in case of tears.

Source: Adapted from Every Little Thing: A Beginner's Journey to a Natural Life, originally inspired by From Arepas to Zwetschgen