Name: Eggs in Potato Hollows
Ingredients: 4 cups cold mashed potatoes; ½ cup crumbled crisp bacon or diced ham; ¼ cup minced or grated onion; ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, optional (tarragon, dill, parsley, etc); ½ tsp black pepper; bacon fat or butter; ½ cup dry bread crumbs; 8 eggs; 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, etc)

Why it works: Dill and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 669 recipes. Both carry p-mentha-1,3,8-triene, which smells camphor, herbal. The science ↓

Eggs in Potato Hollows

Oven450°F, then 350°F

Time10 minutes, then 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups cold mashed potatoes
½ cup crumbled crisp bacon or diced ham
¼ cup minced or grated onion
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, optional (tarragon, dill, parsley, etc)
½ tsp black pepper
bacon fat or butter
½ cup dry bread crumbs
8 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, etc)

Directions

Prepare

Combine mashed potatoes, bacon, onion, herbs, and pepper, stirring until well mixed.
Grease a shallow baking pan with bacon fat.
Sprinkle the mixture with bread crumbs.
Spoon 8 mounds of the potato mixture onto the pan.
Using the back of a spoon, make deep depressions large enough to contain eggs in the potatoes.

Bake and serve

Bake in a 450°F oven for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are hot.
Reduce the heat to 350°F.
Drop eggs into the potato hollows.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the eggs are set.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Return to the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts and the eggs are done.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1267Calories

64 gProtein

46 gFat

148 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 13 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Ham	100g cooked	145
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Dill + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together669 recipes

Shared aroma: p-mentha-1,3,8-triene (camphor, herbal).
Tarragon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,563 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Tarragon + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together111 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Potato + dilltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together423 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mashed potatoes: Form the base that holds the mounds and eggs together.
Eggs: Set when baked, binding the casserole and giving it a firm, sliceable texture.
Bacon: Adds salty, smoky flavour and fat that enriches the potato base.
Cheese: Melts over the eggs, adding richness and a golden browned top.
Bread crumbs: Form a crisp, browned crust on the pan base and surface.

The step that matters

Making the egg hollows. Eggs need deep, well-formed depressions in the potato mounds so they stay contained and set evenly rather than running across the pan.

Swap the tarragon

The recipe marks tarragon as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, ham, onion, dill, parsley, pepper, butter):

Thymefits better
Celeryfits about as well
Marjoramfits about as well
Tarragonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, ham, onion, dill, parsley, pepper, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Brown Bread461 recipes

Potato Croquettes255 recipes

Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes

White Bread80 recipes

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Eggs in Potato Hollows