Cheddar and Mushroom Shirred Eggs

The Indian-style baked eggs Florentine that I made the other week were not only a tremendous success on the breakfast table but were an apparently very popular recipe with my readers as well. So I couldn't resist revisiting the idea this week, but replacing the creamed spinach with what is probably my favorite all-purpose ingredient — mushrooms. Without spinach, of course, they're no longer eggs Florentine and since I can't come up with a fancy name for cooked eggs on top of mushrooms I'm just calling them cheddar and mushroom shirred eggs. Whatever they're called, they're just as good as the eggs Florentine.

Again, you will need eight 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups, or you can use four larger gratin dishes and divide the same ingredients four ways instead of eight. And as with the eggs Florentine, these are best served right away but they are very hot at first!

On the subject of mushrooms, there is still time to submit a mushroom dish for April's edition of No Croutons Required. Make a soup or a salad, or something in between featuring mushrooms before the 20th of this month. For a recap of the submission details, go here.

Cheddar and Mushroom Shirred Eggs

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on April 13, 2008 Seasoned and sautéed fresh mushrooms baked with eggs and topped with sharp old Cheddar — a fantastic breakfast or appetizer Print this recipe Ingredients: butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 oz (225 g) fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 small onion, sliced 2 green onions, both white and green parts, chopped 1/8 teaspoon hot paprika fresh ground black pepper 8 large eggs sea salt 1/4 lb (115 g) sharp old Cheddar, thinly sliced bread crumbs hot paprika for garnish Instructions: Lightly grease 8 ramekins or custard cups with butter and preheat the oven to 350°. Place the ramekins on a baking tray. Heat a medium saucepan or wok over high heat. When hot, pour in the olive oil, wait a few seconds, then swirl around to coat the pan. Add the mushrooms, onion, and the white parts of the green onions and fry, stirring continually, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and lightly browned. Remove from heat and stir in the green parts of the green onions, the paprika, and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Divide the mushrooms between the eight ramekins, a generous soup spoon full for each. Break an egg into a saucer or cup, and slide the egg into a prepared cup. Repeat with each of the remaining eggs, putting one egg into each ramekin. Sprinkle each cup with a little salt and slide the baking tray into the oven. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully lay slices of the cheddar cheese on top of each egg. Sprinkle the tops with a some bread crumbs and a pinch of hot paprika, and return the tray to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes longer, until the egg whites are set, and up to 10 minutes if you prefer the yolks to be set as well. The cheese should be bubbling, and the bread crumbs browned. Very carefully transfer the ramekins to a plate and serve with a fork or spoon Makes 8 servings