Eggs Florentine Toast Cups

I have a growing collection of recipes to share but I bypassed all of them as soon as I had these toast cups.  I had to share it with anyone who's listening to try these for breakfast.   I cooked them twice this week.  They were that good. 

A few days ago, my browsing casually passed by the page of Kayotic Kitchen's egg & bacon toast cups.   From then on, I couldn't stop thinking about them.  Shame on me after all the calories I had put on during the holidays.  And I had to invite my husband along, who just proclaimed his new resolution that he will go on a diet.  Eggs, cheese and anything related to bacon are his worst enemies.

When I was about to start breakfast, I browsed around the internet for more ideas other than toast as the base of the cups because for that specific morning, I didn't have so much stock.  The kids, who are toast & honey dependents will not forgive me if they find out that I used the last of their bread.

That is when I found out about eggs florentine.   I was very interested because there is spinach.  It should replace the bacon or any of its relations.  I just defrosted a mono portion of sauteed broccoli rabe for the kids the day before that got neglected.  I didn't know what to do with them.   This recipe was a perfect fit!

I decided to combine both recipes and finally have our breakfast brunch!  I thought of maintaining the toast cup idea, put the broccoli rabe, retain the meat part so I put some chopped dried sausage, then top them with an egg, mornay sauce & grated pecorino di fossa (pit cheese).  Just once, we can forget about calories and dieting and start the day with big grins on our faces.  Have a break, have a big breakfast!

To go with the toast cups, I made a simple tomato salad dressed with aceto di miele (honey vinegar), extra virgin olive oil, salt & dried oregano.  

I referred to Emeril Lagasse's eggs florentine recipe at the Food Network for the mornay sauce and some pointers about this dish.  

Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients and instructions.  It's actually a very simple recipe.  Just read on. 

Eggs Florentine Toast Cups

Ingredients:
Serves 2

• 4 - 6 eggs
• 4 - 6 slices of bread (toast)
• parsley
• salt & pepper
• a few slices of dried sausages, diced (Originally bacon but I substituted it with dried sausage.  Pancetta or guanciale can also go well. 
• grated cheese (I used pecorino di fossa.)

• Sauteed Broccoli Rabe (or Spinach):
• 100 g. of sauteed spinach (You can substitute it with broccoli rabe.)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

• Mornay Sauce:
• 1 tsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt & pepper
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 10 g. grated cheese such as gruyere or emmenthaler (I used parmigiano reggiano.)

Prepare the broccoli rabe or spinach. 

• Heat a small amount of oil in a small saucepan.  When it's hot, add the crushed garlic.  
• Saute' the vegetables until cooked through, about 15 minutes.  
• Season with salt & pepper.  Discard garlic.  Set aside.

Prepare the mornay sauce.

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  
• Add the flour and  and stir constantly, until the roux is pale yellow and frothy, about 1 minute.  Do not allow the roux to brown.  
• Slowly whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil, about 2 to 3 minutes.  
• Reduce the heat to a simmer and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Stir in the cheese and whisk until melted. If the sauce seems too thick, thin with a little milk.  Set aside.   
• Use sauce immediately while it's still hot or warm.  You can also refrigerate the excess for a few days. 

Prepare the dried sausage.

• In another saucepan, toast the diced dried sausage for about 2 -3 minutes.  
• Drain from the oil.  Set aside.

Prepare the bread.

• Slice away all the sides of the bread.  
• Flatten them with a rolling pin.   
• With a help of a round food cutter, press in the middle of the bread to make the bread round.  The first time I did this recipe, I didn't cut them to round pieces.  I left them squarish, without the sides.  It had more room for the egg.
• There are 2 other ways to prepare the bread base according to the original recipe and the one of Martha Stewart where it was originally taken from.  One is to put 2 round bread together, overlapping each other on the muffin mold.  Refer to Kayotic Kitchen's method for this.  Another one is to cut the round bread into 2, press them on the sides of the mold then fill up the center bottom with excess bread. Refer to Steamy Kitchen's method for this.  I found mine much simpler but it's just smaller.  Not all the egg white can fit.  Set aside.

Compose the toast cups. 

• Oven should be pre-warmed at 200 degrees Celcius.   
• Brush the muffin pan with melted butter or oil.  I used the one made of silicone so I didn't oil the pan anymore.  Press the flattened toast on the muffin mold.  
• Put about a spoonful of broccoli rabe followed by a few pieces of diced dried sausage.  
• Put the egg in a small cup or plate.  Transfer the yolk plus half of the white to the toast cup.  The whole egg doesn't fit in one toast cup.  
• Bake between 13 - 17 minutes or until the eggs have set.  In the original recipe, it says to bake between 15 - 17 minutes but the yolk was too cooked for me.  The second time I did it, I baked them only for 13 minutes and the yolk has not set yet, just like how I like them.  
• Put some mornay sauce on top.  Sprinkle with grated cheese & chopped parsley. 

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