Here you go. The ultimate deli-inspired breakfast. Speediness? Check. Deliciousness? Check. Cuteness factor? Chhhhheck. Two ingredients, but tastes like 54 ingredients? Check and check.
Okay, to be honest, it really is more like 54 ingredients. I know, I know. Fake news before the third paragraph is pushing it, even for me. But the ingredients discrepancy here is really only because of the garnishes. I’ll explain in a bit.
For now, back to the basics of these magical pastrami-egg cups: pastrami and—you guessed it!—eggs.
I actually didn’t intend to make these over the weekend—twelve egg cups is a rather lot of egg cups, and it’s not like we were having company or anything. I mean…company? Do we even remember what company is? Besides an excellent musical?
But! I happened to stop by Zabar’s to pick up some smoked salmon for my umpteenth attempt at homemade bagels (coming sooooon!), and, well, a girl only has so much willpower, you know? The fish counter is right over there, and the meat counter is right over there, and…
Next thing you know I’m all out of eggs and the entire apartment smells like pastrami and there’s a popcorn kernel mysteriously stuck on a ceiling tile and Andre is very happy. And so am I. The end.
Popcorn kernel part has nothing to do with anything, but I’ve really been wanting to tell someone about that. It’s an absolute mystery. Thank you for listening.
I think the most important thing for you to know about making these is that it’s a very good idea to ask for thinly-sliced pastrami at your local deli or butcher—you want the pieces to be malleable enough to wrap around the interior of each muffin tin. If you can’t get your hands on thin pastrami, though, don’t sweat it; a thicker cut should work fine.
Have the words “thin pastrami” ever been uttered before with such admiration? Or any admiration, for that matter? Probably not. But that’s what I’m here for. To start new trends.
The second most important thing to know is that garnishes are your friend. Er, friends, plural, I suppose. I went a little overboard with mine: chopped green onions, and cilantro, and red pepper flakes, and this herby harissa, and…I think that’s it. But, a lot. Because as wonderful as the whole short-list-of-ingredients thing is, it also yields a very lonely-looking end result. And this year is hard enough already without dragging lonely deli meat into the equation.
Okay, well, I’ve got to go see about a popcorn kernel, and besides, there’s really not much else to say about these guys. Which is a problem, because there are, oh, 3,000 photos of them coming up.
So.
Let us silently scroll together, you and I.
(Recipe at the bottom of the page!)
Pastrami-Egg Cups
Makes 12 cups
What You’ll Need:
- 12-cup muffin tin
- 1/3 to 1/2 pound thinly-sliced pastrami (you’ll want at least 15-20 slices; you can request the thinner cuts in-person at your local deli)
- 12 large eggs
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh green onions, chives, or cilantro leaves, to garnish
- Red pepper flakes, to garnish
What You’ll Do:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Wrap one or two pieces of pastrami around the interior of each cup in your muffin tin. It’s okay if the rings you create aren’t perfect or have some gaps; just try to leave an opening in the center; in other words, try not to let the pastrami “hang over” into the middle of the cup. Another tip here: If the pastrami is being finicky and not staying put in its ring shape, try ripping it at various intervals or opting for smaller pieces rather than fighting with one long strand.
- Crack one egg into the center of each of the cups, then add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the whites are firm and the yolk is still runny (you can also bake for a few minutes longer if you prefer a firmer yolk). Use a small offset spatula or dinner knife to loosen the edges of each cup and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish as desired (I also added a few extra tiny pieces of chopped pastrami as a garnish on a few of these); serve immediately!