Archive for the ‘Breakfast’ Category
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
I know it’s not very de rigueur as the food world seems to be obsessed with all things meaty at the moment, but over the past month or so, the wife and I have been making a bit of a concerted effort to eat less of the stuff. More for health reasons than anything ethical. Anyway, I’d been wanting to do a baked egg dish of some kind for a while, and then I came across this recipe for Chachouka from the excellent River Cottage Veg book (no this isn’t a plug).
Unless we’re super greedy, I’m not sure how Hugh thinks this will serve 4 people, so I’d read it at serving two. I also added a chilli to spice it up a bit. Finally, whilst this is a great veggie dish, I think it could be converted into something equally excellent with the addition of some minced lamb.
Ingredients
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, halved & finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red pepper, cored, de-seeded and finely sliced
1 yellow pepper, cored, de-seeded and finely sliced
1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika
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Tags: Baked Eggs, Chachouka, Chilli, cumin seeds, Garlic, Onions, Paprika, peppers, River Cottage, Saffron, Tomatoes
Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Reading, Recipes | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 18th, 2012
Believe your eyes. It’s a big cornbread muffin, encasing a boiled egg, shards of maple candied bacon, chilli and topped with more of that sweet, sweet bacon.
This recipe is totally inspired by a cornbread and egg muffin I had at a place called Sweetcakes in Chicago a few years ago. It’s an idea that’s been knocking around in my brain ever since, but in my mind, there were two major problems with their version of this inspired bit of breakfast madness. 1: The ratio of cornbread to filling. Too much egg, not enough bread. 2: No bacon. What a mistake-a to make-a.
This recipe rectifies both problems, but as a result, you can’t bake them in regular muffin tins as they’re just not big enough. So I use small aluminium pudding molds. The kind of thing you’d make a chocolate fondant in. Also, make sure you buy medium sized eggs, not the bigger ones you can get these days.
Ingredients (makes 6)
150 g yellow grits / cornmeal / polenta
150 g white bread flour
1 large red chilli, de-seeded & finely chopped
8 medium sized eggs (6 for the inside, 2 for the batter)
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Tags: Bacon, Big, Breakfast, Chili, cornbread, Cornmeal, Eggs, Flour, Grits, maple syrup, Muffins, polenta, Tabasco
Posted in Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Travel | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Whilst road tripping in the Deep South of the US last year, we got pretty excited about the Southern food. And when you look at the evidence, there’s a lot to like. Barbecue, shrimp & grits, shrimp boils, fried pickles and green tomatoes, boiled peanuts, fried chicken, corn bread. Not the kind of thing to be writing about when you’re hungry like I am now.
Anyway, one of the many memorable meals we had was at a place called Dante’s in New Orleans. I mentioned it before in this post, but as an ‘amuse bouche‘ we were given something called a spoon bread. A close relative to corn bread, it had a softer, spongier texture, was deeper in colour due to the inclusion of molasses and as the name suggests, was eaten with a spoon. It was totally sweet and delicious, a bit like eating a desert before you’ve even started your meal, and I thought it was great. I asked our waitress if I could have the recipe, and before we left the chef handed it over, of which this is a slightly re-worked version.
Like they did at Dante’s, I baked mine in cast iron corn bread skillets (16 x 3 cm) that we picked up from the Lodge factory store whilst we were over there. But you could bake them in any oven proof dish, or do mini ones in a muffin tins.
A couple of notes before we begin, I’ve switch the molasses in the recipe for black treacle for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I find that molasses has a slightly bitter aftertaste which I personally don’t like, and secondly black treacle is easier to get hold of. Similarly, if you can’t get your hands on stone ground grits, just use polenta. Finally, the original recipe also calls for buttermilk. Again, this isn’t that readily available in the UK, but you can just switch this up for plain low fat yoghurt.
Ingredients (makes 2)
1 large egg
250ml butter milk / low fat plain yoghurt
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Tags: Baking, Bread, Brunch, Cooking, Corn, Dante's, Desert, Lodge, New Orleans, Southern, Spoon
Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Reviews, Sweet Stuff, Travel | No Comments »
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Like pretty much anyone with taste buds and a working nose, I love bacon, and having a stab at curing my own is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, in fact ever since I read this article by Tim Hayward a few years ago.
Despite what you think, it’s actually really easy. In fact I’d say anyone blessed with a pair of arms could do it. It requires no culinary skill what so ever, just a very few ingredients and a bit of time. In fact less than a week. Just think, a week after reading this you could be tucking into a sarnie made with your own bacon. Excited? You should be.
I substituted the maple syrup in Tim’s cure for black treacle, as I wanted to try something a bit different, and I used a smaller joint, but the rest of the method is pretty much as described in the link above. The only other thing you’ll need is a tupperware box big enough to accommodate the joint.
Ingredients
1kg loin of pork, skin removed and boned
400ml black treacle
300g unrefined sea salt
Method
Day 1: Go to a decent butcher and ask him / her for a boned loin of pork with a finished weight of around a kilo. Also ask them to remove the skin, but leave the fat on. Take the joint home, pop it into your tupperware box, and then cover in 200ml of the black treacle. Give the joint a good rub all over, making sure it’s nicely coated, and then pop on the lid and stick it in the fridge.
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Tags: Article, Bacon, Black Treacle, Butcher, Cure, Guardian, Home, Loin, Pork, Sel Gr, Tim Hayward, Unrefined Sea Salt
Posted in Breakfast, Reading, Recipes | 9 Comments »
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
There are few things in life that lift my spirits in a morning like a bacon sarnie does. Hungover, or not, that combination of salty, smoky bacon, bread, butter and whatever condiment takes your fancy is hard to beat. Fruit salad, muesli, granola, porridge, whilst all lovely in their own way, are always going to take second place.
The fine example above is the Old Spot bacon sandwich at St John Bread & Wine, which really is a thing of beauty. Thick cut bacon, yielding, lightly griddled white bread with a toothsome crust, butter and a generous helping of home made tomato ketchup on the side. As they say on their site, it truly is the Bacon Sandwich of your nocturnal fantasies.
But I’m not a butty elitist. In many ways I’m just as happy scarfing down some greasy spoon bacon slapped between a couple of slices of Sunblest. However you get your fix, it’s a breakfast that always feels like a bit of a treat, as opposed to just a way to start the day.
Truly one of life’s simple pleasures.
Tags: Bacon, Bread & Wine, Breakfast, Griddled, Ketchup, Salty, Sandwich, Sarnie, Simple Pleasures, Smoked, St John
Posted in Breakfast, Opinion, Reviews | 1 Comment »
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
A big haggis = lots of leftovers, but what do you do with them?As we had ours with ‘neeps’, ‘tatties’, and cabbage we had all the makings of a bubble and squeak, and I thought I’d add some haggis into the mix and see what happened. Turns out it was a pretty good idea. Made into patties and fried in a little oil, they made a great dinner, but reckon they’d make a good breakfast too.
Ingredients
400g cooked haggis
150g cooked cabbage, shredded
150g potato, smashed
150g swede, smashed
1 onion
Salt and pepper
Eggs (optional)
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Tags: Bubble & Squeak, Cabbage, Fried, Fried Eggs, Haggis, Pattie, Potato, Salad, Swede
Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Recipes | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
I’d never made marmalade before, but inspired by an article and recipe written by one of my baking heroes Dan Lepard I read last week, I decided to have a stab. It is a little time consuming, but it’s very satisfying, and it also makes your kitchen smell awesome. It starts with a fresh, zingy citrus whiff, and then at some point during the process it suddenly changes, and BANG! Your kitchen smells like marmalade.
I was pretty pleased with the results. The only things I’d say were that I wish it had set a bit firmer, but as I understand it this can be a bit hit and miss, and I also prefer a bit more peel in my marmalade, so I’ve adjusted the recipe accordingly.This should make around 4 big-ish jars, or a couple of bigger Kilner style preserve jars.
Ingredients
400g Seville oranges (about four)
Zest of 1 additional orange
1 lemon
1 litre water
775g white sugar
25g dark muscovado sugar
Method
One thing you’re going to need to make the sweet stuff is some muslin, and a jam / sugar thermometer. Neither are particularly expensive, and are worth having anyway, so put your hand in your pocket.
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Tags: Dan Lepard, Guardian, Jam, Kilner, Lemon, Marmalade, Muslin, Orange, Pectin, Peel, Seville, Sugar, Zest
Posted in Breakfast, Recipes, Sweet Stuff | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
The Great British Fry Up is a thing of beauty when done right, and probably one of the most disappointing food experiences when it’s cocked up. These days the classic fry up at a ‘greasy spoon’ has increasingly been replaced by the ‘posh’, expensive version served in gastro pubs and the like, and many of the old school cafés have gone with it. Earlier in the year, an old favourite caff of mine, Rossi’s in Spitalfields, closed its doors after 50 plus years of serving happy punters. A sad day.
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Tags: Bacon, Bubble & Squeak, Cafe, Egg, Fry Up, London, Pimlico, Regency, Sausage, Victotia
Posted in Breakfast, Reading, Reviews | 3 Comments »
