Muffins
– when they are baking a sweet, tantalising aroma floats through
the air. Traditional muffins are found with carrot, blueberry, apple
and often cinnamon. Today anything really goes;
different kinds of chocolate, an assortment of wild berries and more.
Though what happens when one takes the muffin tin and bakes something
less traditional? Can the resulting delicacy be called a muffin?
Earlier, I baked lasagna in muffin tins and the result was not only
wonderfully tasty and delicious but it also looked darn beautiful.
This
time out I went a little further with a breakfast muffin that also
works as an appetizer for friends and family as they drop by. So with
one hand on a muffin tin and the other on a potato, the two in my
mind simply had to get to know each other.
Everybody
loves potatoes, whether as fries, mash, poutine or hash browns. I
took several potatoes and shredded them, I like them loose and wide,
not grated, and as we know there are many versions of hash browns,
from cubes through to the patties as served by a fast food
restaurant. Next I added an onion, green onion, mushrooms and a red
chili pepper, all sliced finely and sauteed together; adding towards
the end finely chopped fresh basil and thyme. The rest of the recipe
you can have a look at below, but one thing I'll mention is that the
cheese is of your choice; I used a strong, old and fragrant cheddar,
but you can use crumbled blue cheese or even feta. The result is the
hash brown muffin.
Since
the muffin tin was still in my hands I decided to try something else
with it. Cinco de Mayo was around the corner and I wanted to do
something different with the taco. At first I tried crushed tortilla
chips as a base, similar to gram crackers and a cheese cake. Failure.
Then, a soft taco shell. Failure. Then the light turned on: use
either a wonton wrapper or egg roll, both after all can be deep fried
and hold their consistency. I tried both but like the egg roll
wrapper a little more as it was somewhat bigger, but as I say both
work well.
Once
again I flavoured the ground beef with onion and mushroom, this time
adding some chopped tomato and a habanero pepper. How much heat you
wish to add is of your choice, as with the cheese. Again, I leave
that up to each individual cook as the masters of their own galley.
Have
fun, these morsels look real fine on a plate and the muffin tin
allows them to have a size that is enough as a single and not so
gluttonous as a pair. Heck, in the end you made them, have as many as
you want.
Hash Muffin
4-6
large potatoes, peeled and shredded
4
medium white mushrooms, finely chopped
1
small red onion, finely chopped
1
red or green chili pepper, deveigned and finely chopped
1/2
cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2
eggs, beaten
1/4
cup fresh basil, chopped
Preheat
oven to 400 degrees.
Cook
shredded potatoes, season to taste and set aside, drained of all oil.
Cook
mushroom and onion till onion turns translucent.
Add
chili pepper, cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Add
onion mixture to potatoes and add fresh basil. Mix well.
Add
cheddar cheese and mix.
Add
eggs and mix well to coat all ingredients.
Fill
individual muffin tins and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until browned
and golden.
The
Taco Muffin
1
lb ground beef
6
medium white mushrooms, finely chopped
1
red onion, finely chopped
1/2
bunch green onion, chopped
1
red chili pepper, finely chopped
1
pack Old El Paso taco seasoning mix
2/3
cup water
Wonton
wrappers or egg roll wrappers
1
can refried beans
tortilla
chips
2
cups shredded cheddar cheese
1
jar salsa
chopped
cilantro for topping
sour
cream for dipping
Preheat
oven to 375 degrees.
Cook
ground beef till all pink is gone, breaking up large chunks.
Drain
of all oil and set aside.
Cook
mushrooms, onions, green onion and chili pepper till onions are no
longer translucent.
Add
meat to mushroom mixture, add the pack of taco seasoning and water,
cook
for 5 to 8 minutes to thicken.
Place
one wanton or egg roll wrapper at the bottom of the muffin cup.
Add
a layer of one crushed tortilla chip, then one tablespoon of salsa.
Add
refried beans then meat mixture. Top with cheddar cheese.
Bake
for 15 to 18 minutes.
Let
cool and set for 3 to 4 minutes then serve with a topping of sour
cream and fresh cilantro.
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