Mash hash has become a regular feature of my week. In order to make weekday meals speedier, I bulk cook some things in advance when I have time, like potatoes.

I cook up a batch, I usually boil them, sometimes roast, and then I use them throughout the week. I peel them and cut them in slices before frying them for a speedy hash with eggs. I fry the skins to make crispy potato skins which may become the centre of a dish or a lovely crisp garnish. I make potato cakes, gnocchi, croquettes. All of these things are speedy once your potatoes are already cooked. Recently, I have become a little obsessed with Mash Hash.
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Brunch is never just brunch, even when it is just for myself, which it mostly is. In the morning I wake up gently as I cook, I really enjoy it, and it is one huge perk of working from home. This crab omelette (with favourite things bacon and tomato) is one in a series of lovely things that I make daily and always share on social media. Not all warrant a recipe and to be shared here but this one does. You need to make it. 

I say brunch not breakfast as brunch is such a forgiving thing. It can be anything and it can be all day. I also don’t like to eat when I first get up, unless I have to leave the house. I start gently with a coffee and start work. A couple of hours later I turn my attention to the garden, the fridge and the stove. A wander outside to gather herbs, greens and whatever else is of interest starts the process. To these I add whatever might be in the fridge. I often have an idea of what I might like but this might change swiftly once I start.

A 10 Minute Crab, Bacon and Tomato Omelette

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Go straight to the recipe for your new twist on Brunch Eggs – Courgette, Carrot and Sesame Egg Menamen

You know how it goes. You are cooking brunch. It is the weekend. A sleepy start, slower than normal. Hatching plans. Just what will be the perfect soldier to dip in to your runny egg yolk? I take great care with my eggs to avoid any potential problems. The yolk is the very best bit and I need it to be runny and perfect, I also need my white to be set. This, I figured out years ago. The trick is simple, just add a lid and cook it just long enough.

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Who doesn’t love an asparagus mimosa? I am a little egg obsessed, this is well established. In low moments, I love egg mayonnaise. It was one of the first things that I started to make myself as a teenager. Chopped onion, chopped boiled egg and mayonnaise, with salt and pepper, sometimes with tomato, always between two slices of bread. It was my thing, along with potato salad. I combined them at times (and I suggest you do too, if you never have). When I was hungry, egg mayonnaise was what I wanted. Every time. Now, when I am tired or sore or sick, I reach for egg mayo too.

Egg mayo is so much more than invalid food. It is deeply satisfying and nourishing, not just on its own or between slices of bread, it is wonderful with asparagus in an asparagus mimosa, and fun in delicious served inside a scooped out tomato. Mimosa is a simple thing, chopped boiled egg, dressed and scattered on top of asparagus is all it is. This time I elevated it with a crisp chorizo crumb, something which I suggest you bulk make, and then try not to eat it all in one go. Chorizo crumb goes with pretty much everything. Scatter some on a fried egg, serve it as a meaty pangrattato in place of parmesan, even better with. Continue reading

Eggs for brunch! Maybe 75% of my brunches have eggs, isn’t that the way it should be?

I was caught on the hop today while scheduling work for next week when I was informed that it is a bank holiday again. Again?! When I worked in an office I would of course know this ages in advance and I would be plotting and planning, but working at home for myself where my only colleagues are inanimate (and gorgeous fragrant) tulips and the occasional neighbourhood cat, I often miss the memo these days. The days pass and follow and now it is almost May. How did that happen? Regardless, it did, and now summer is almost here.

Tulips from Amsterdam! Truly, I picked them on an organic tulip farm earlier in the week and brought them home. Gorgeous.

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Isn’t everything better with an egg? Most things, anyway. An egg is an instant easy sauce. That rich yolk, which must be runny, and a variety of things to go with it, some of which must be crisp and dippable. And a runny egg yolk is the perfect thing to have with some lovely saltimbocca.

One of the farmers at my local farmers market sells terrific meat. The prices are excellent, the minced meats have plenty of fat (and therefore lots of flavour and moisture) and there are always interesting cuts. He also always has veal, minced and in thin escalopes. Saltimbocca alla Romana had been on my mind, and when reminded of it via an instagram post from the wonderful Rachel Roddy, I decided that it had to be done. Continue reading

 Foraging in general is a joy. Free food, incredibly fresh, often difficult to source otherwise. I was at home last week and used it as an opportunity to stock up on gorgeous wild garlic.

My trip home was last minute. I was invited to speak at Facebook in Dublin for International Women’s Day and I jumped at the chance to immerse myself in company and to spend a little time at home. I was quite curious about facebook, too. I wanted to plug in and opt out, just for a little bit. It was a wonderful day in the end, I left inspired and hopeful, and reminded that community is so important, and that this is difficult for someone who spends lots of time working at home alone. 

Speaking at Facebook on International Women’s Day

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I took enormous pleasure dunking lots of bread in my soup when I was a child. In advance of eating it, lots of bread, sometimes killing the soup in the process. I occasionally ended up with a disappointing bowl of flavoured soggy bread. Castilian garlic soup is the perfect soup for people who love to dunk bread in their soup. It is perfectly balanced, the bread has absorbed the flavours and then yielded to everything, this soup is the ultimate bowl of comfort. One of, at any rate. 

I first had this soup at Botin in Madrid, Spain. A prelude to my meal of roast suckling pig, which is what I had come to try. Garlic soup though? Lets give that a bash too. What arrived was a bowl of soup rich with bread, stringy egg and a punchy broth. I loved it, and I have had it many times since. 

Where to Eat in Madrid: Roast Suckling Pig at Botín

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Some mornings need a slice of joy, many recently. For me, that is almost always related to an egg, and frequently some spice. All eggs require something to dip in their glorious yolk and disrupt it. Is there any better sauce than a runny egg? And any simpler one? 

I love Korean flavours and I always have kimchi in my fridge. Usually homemade but sometimes shop bought (you can buy it in any Asian food store and most delis). Many experimental ones. Kimchi is kimchi is kimchi. Kimchi is glorious. (For those of you yet to discover it, it is chilli fermented cabbage with a variety of things, usually garlic, ginger , spring onions, something sweet like Asian pear or carrot, and lots of wonderful Korean red pepper, gochugaru).  Continue reading

It has just started snowing in London. Snow! I am hiding inside under my duvet while I work, with the heating on. I need carbs and spice and a perfect egg with a runny yolk. 

Masala fries are in my mind a lot recently, not just because they are delicious and so satisfying, but also because my corner shop has started stocking them in their freezer. I see them every time I walk out of the shop. They are so easy to make at home, and as with most things, all the better for it. Today was the day that I would make them.  Continue reading

I have been on a porcini kick since I was in France last month, specifically since I had a cep fondue (cep and porcini are one and the same thing). I prefer the word porcini, so let’s use that.

Porcini are a magical little thing. They confer a depth of flavour to any dish. Something of the woods and something rich, which when combined with soy sauce reaches a throaty gorgeous rumble. Throw a homemade chicken stock in the mix and you have something wonderful. I fancied trying the combination in that Eastern wonder dish, congee. Continue reading

Cheesy scrambled eggs! Yes! Let’s do this. 

I adore eggs. Any egg, all eggs, cooked any way. Graceful in marshmallow, indulgent in mayonnaise, gorgeous in hollandaise, perfect as fried egg, luxurious when poached just so. I love an omelette, cooked with speed in a puddle of butter over a high flame, almost as much as I love scrambled egg with a lick of cream, cooked gently and teased into existence. Soft curds, folded over one another in relaxed fashion.  Continue reading

When I was in Dublin last week I cooked with Lily Ramirez-Foran. I have known Lily for years online and met her at Electric Picnic, an Irish music festival with a fun food stage, the Theatre of Food. Lily is Mexican, from Monterrey, but based in Ireland with her Irish husband whom she met in Japan. Ireland is very lucky to have her and her gorgeous Mexican shop and kitchen Picado, in Portabello in Dublin. It is a joyful place where Lily serves the best Mexican produce (food and other bits like handmade Mexican pinatas!). She also has supper clubs and cooking classes there on a weekly basis.  Continue reading

Hot avocado seems a misnomer. The joy of avocado is its effortless smooth creaminess, always cold. I first saw warm avocado on the menu of a rural Italian restaurant when I first moved to London. It was roasted with a light covering of gorgonzola. I thought it curious and not offensive but I wasn’t inspired to replicate it at home.

Lately, baked avocados have erupted all over this internet. Paleo folks love them (did the cavemen really eat their avocados this way?! Ahem!). I was curious. I decided to have a go. An egg simply roasted inside an avocado didn’t appeal, I felt it required something else. Something porky, or spicy, something that would give it a little edge. I opted for sobrassada, a gorgeous spreadable pork sausage from the Balearics (and in my case specifically, Menorca), very gently spiced. ‘Nduja would be ace here too, as would some chorizo or some chilli and tomato if you wanted something vegetarian.

To fit a whole egg in half a hass avocado is a challenge that requires removing much of the avocado flesh, so I opted instead to put in a quails egg. Fiddly, yes, but straight forward when you gently pierce the shell with a sharp knife and remove enough shell to coax the quails egg out without breaking the yolk. I did remove a little flesh (which I ate immediately and with glee). Some sobrassada first, raw quails egg on top, and salt and pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil on top, before roasting in the oven under a cover of foil to protect the egg from crusting.

The verdict? Yeah, these are good! And even better with some toast. Spread some of the avocado and sobrassada on, and top with that gorgeous egg.

Enjoy!

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Ramen eggs. Deep joy! Let me introduce you to your best friend in your fridge. It just takes a little time and organisation, not much.  

Gorgeous rich flavour bombs, soothing as intense, and oozing. Ramen eggs take little time to prepare, the time is all in the marinade process. Ingredients can be as complicated as you like, some people add ginger, chilli or garlic, others add kelp for an extra flavour boom. I keep it simple, basic ramen eggs are everything I could want and they go with everything. A marinade of equal parts (decent) soy, sake and mirin (soft rice vinegar) bathing a peeled soft boiled egg, gently invades the yolk and eases it. Makes it richer, makes it gentler, makes it more intense. 

I have been eating these on top of congee (the most absorbing and comforting Chinese rice porridge soup – recipe soon!), they are wonderful oozing gently into chicken noodle soup and they are perfect on their own too, eaten just as they are. Here, I had them on a sushi rice bowl. I chose sushi rice because I love their stubby short grain nature. They stay firm and retain bite when cooked, and are lovely dressed with (more) soy and mirin. On top, whatever you like. This week I have had pork and pumpkin, brussel sprouts and bacon, whatever veg you like, maybe some meat and a lovely ramen egg. 

These make a great lunch, and are perfect packed up for work, for picnics, for train journeys, whatever you like. Play around and come back and tell me your favourite toppings. I am always looking for inspiration. 

Note on the recipe: I like my eggs really runny, but they are tricky to peel and for some dishes I like them a bit firmer. Cook your eggs to your taste and I recommend you cook extra, adjusting the recipe accordingly. You will never regret having extra (they will keep for 3 days in the fridge) and you might over zealously damage one as you peel (I did and still do on occasion).

Recipe: Sushi Rice Bowl with Pumpkin, Kale & a Ramen Egg

serves 1

Ingredients

Ramen Eggs

50 ml sake
50 ml soy sauce
50 ml mirin
3 eggs
a sandwich bag, or freezer bag

Sushi Bowl

100g sushi rice
1 tbsp good soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame seeds (and a little extra for sprinkling at the end)

Toppings

75g diced peeled pumpkin (more if you like)
4 leaves kale or cavolo nero, the leaf stripped from the stem, washed and patted dry
a pinch of chilli
light oil for frying

Method

The night before, boil the eggs to your likeness. I boil large eggs for 6-7 minutes, adding the eggs (at room temperature – I never store eggs in the fridge, in Europe we don’t need to). Refresh immediately in cold water (with ice if you have it). Peel when cold, gently taking care not to damage them. Prepare the marinade and put it in a sandwich bag or freezer bag with the eggs for minimum 2 hours, preferably 8 hours. The longer you leave them the more the yolk takes in, and the firmer it becomes. The eggs in this picture are 5 hours marinaded. If making more eggs, use a lunchbox or similar. You can reuse the marinade, or reduce it by half over heat and use it as a sauce (teriyaki!).

Cook the rice according to packet instructions. I cover the rice with twice its volume of water, bring it to the boil and then put a lid on it. I add more boiling water if I need to, a little at a time, when the rice is tender but still has bite, there should be little water left. I cover it with the lid again and let it absorb the remainder. There is no need to add salt as the soy sauce will season it. Don’t stir it too much as it has a lot of starch and will become sticky like risotto.

While the rice is cooking, sauté the pumpkin in a teaspoon of oil with a little chilli. When it is almost tender, add the kale or cavolo nero, tearing it as you do. When wilted take it off the heat.

Add the soy sauce, mirin and sesame seeds to the rice. Top with the pumpkin, cavolo nero and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. This eats very well warm or cold. Perfect lunch! Enjoy it.

The food inspired by hunger, a lack of time and what is available is often the best. Sometimes that is how I come up with my most interesting recipes. Like today.

There is something about a crispy egg with a runny yolk. And what is the point of a runny yolk if you don’t have something gorgeous to drag through it? Something that will grab on to it and greedily try and entice some of that yolk and pull is with it as it is dragged through. The crispy egg was the first thing I craved as I was at my desk this morning.

Pasta. Good pasta. In this case a spiral noodle extricated using a bronze die so it has a firm grip and superb texture. I just know that the bends in it will show that egg yolk who is boss, but what to have with the pasta?

I thought herbs, and contemplated sage. Something fragrant and light. But then I remembered the feisty ‘nduja lurking in my fridge waiting for its moment. Firey and rich, a Calabrian spreadable sausage made with pork, hot Calabrian chillies and lard. So good. And perfect for this dish. ‘Nduja makes an instant sauce, is wonderful to boost a tomato sauce, and is perfect just on bread, or fried with some seafood like scallops or prawns.

This is easy and speedy and the best reward for 15 minutes work. Make it and enjoy it. And be prepared to make more immediately after.

Note: feel free to substitute spaghetti or linguine. I used Iberico lard as a cooking fat because I had it and I love it, I encourage you to seek it out. But also feel free to substitute with any other fat (butter, oil). Lard is misunderstood and is not unhealthy when used in small amounts. It is a real food, it isn’t processed, and it is a wonderful base oil for cooking. The best savoury pastries are made with lard too. If you can’t find ‘nduja (you should be able to source it online), substitute with chorizo, and chop it small.

Serves one hungry person – takes 15 minutes – prepare to make more immediately after.

So you made a big batch of ragu, and you have leftovers, or you are about to. And you don’t want to eat the same meal every day, several days in a row. People fret about leftover pasta, reheating means it loses its al dente texture, and it might get all flabby. Don’t worry, help is here. Turning leftover pasta into a frittata is a joyful thing to do. 

I first described this idea in recipe form with a papardelle and ragu leftover frittata in Comfort & Spice (my first cookbook) in 2011. Recently, I had a fabulous spaghetti carbonara frittata at Vico in Cambridge Circus (the new outpost from Jacob Kenedy and team in Cambridge Circus). It got me thinking as I stared at my bowl of leftovers yesterday. 

Normally, I would have parmesan with my spaghetti and ragu but I envisioned a cheesy frittata, and I needed something that would melt beautifully and that was also sharp, so I chose cheddar. This is so so simple, and intensely gratifying. The pasta on top becomes lovely and crisp encouraged by its cheesy chaperone. If you have fresh herbs feel free to add them too. 

Recipe: Cheesy Spaghetti and Ragu Frittata

serves one

leftover spaghetti and ragu (or similar) – about 2/3 of a portion per person
2 eggs, beaten lightly
50g grated cheddar cheese
a pinch of sea salt
optional: some chopped tomato, fresh herbs like thyme or basil
light oil for frying

small frying pan / skillet – I used a 20cm / 8 inch frying pan (I recommend a pan this size if you regularly cook for one person)

Method

Add half the cheese and a pinch of salt to the eggs and beat lightly. Add the leftover spaghetti and ragu and stir through. If using tomato or herbs add now too.
You can fry or bake it at this point – I have done both. Frying is quicker but requires a little more attention (if baking bake at 180 deg C for about 10 minutes).
Add a little oil to your frying pan. Add the frittata mix and cook over a medium heat for 4 – 5 minutes.
Cover the top with the rest of the cheese and put it under a hot grill to finish. When the cheese is bubbling and starting to crisp it is ready to eat.
Enjoy!

You might think that I have lost the plot here. It isn’t the most attractive of recipe titles but, trust me, this new recipe of mine for boiled eggs with a lively black bean chilli sauce is GOOD. And it is simple and speedy too. I mean, we all love black bean sauce, right?

Fermented black beans, also called salted black beans or preserved black beans, are a Chinese staple. You can get them in most Chinese food shops, often with ginger. They are really inexpensive plus a little goes a very long way. I recommend that you all get some for your cupboard, you will find them indispensable on days when you want something speedy with a flavour punch. The work has all been done in advance for you with the fermentation of the beans.

These are superb in a speedy sauce with pork, they are excellent with clams and thin strips of pork belly too. I have used them with beef in a speedy Asian ragu that I had with rice noodles (fusion much?). These little black beans are super versatile. Treat yourself to some (they won’t cost you more than £2) and play around. They are easy to source online too if you don’t have a Chinese shop nearby.

Start here! Enjoy.

Recipe: Breakfast Eggs with a Lively Black Bean Chilli Sauce (Trust Me)

per person – although you might want 2 eggs, I did! So maybe double up :)

Ingredients

3 tbsp black beans
2 spring onions, chopped finely (white and green parts)
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp mild flaked chilli or one fresh mild chilli deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
light oil like groundnut oil
1 gorgeous egg

Method

Soak the black beans in enough water to cover them for a few minutes, then drain. Heat a tablespoon of oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic, spring onions and chilli if using a fresh chilli. After a couple of minutes add the chilli if using dried chilli, and allow to cook over a gentle heat for about 5 minutes.

In this time boil your eggs until just done. For me, and the eggs I like to use (Old Cotswold Legbars that are usually large but sometimes more medium), I add them to boiling water and take them out after 6 or 7 minutes. A trick I learned when I was a kid is that your eggs are boiled when the water evaporates off the shell immediately when you take them out of the water. Peel and quarter.

Stir the coriander leaves through the black beans, saving some for a garnish. Spread a little of the black bean mixture on the plate – those eggs can be slippy! – then place the eggs on top. Place the remaining black bean sauce on the eggs, gently with a spoon. Garnish with the remaining coriander leaves.

You will notice I don’t salt them, the beans season the dish plenty. But yours might be different, so taste first and then decide.

Enjoy!

Yes! I am back in my kitchen after 10 days in Italy. My trip was split between Abruzzo and Rome and was deeply inspirational, if a little hot. No very hot, and all the mozzies got the memo that the pink Irish person was in town. Little gits.

Italy always gets my cooking neurons firing, I go there as often as I can, but this trip was particularly interesting as I was travelling mainly with talented chefs and food writers. The trip in general was centred around one of my favourite things, pasta! But, more on that soon.

I got back last night, very late after lots of delays. I was tired, my luggage was heavy with wine, charcuterie, beans and maybe a small arrosticini grill. There may have been a chitarra too. I know, I know, I have a problem. It was a lot to lug home solo, but the people of London were awesome, as always, and so many total strangers offered to help me as I went. I got home eventually, hungry, and enthusiastic to cook. I needed to make something speedy with a punch. The answer to that turned out to be a steak salad with ‘nduja onions. And it was good.

‘Nduja onions? What even are they? Red onions, caramelised gently for half an hour or so, with firey ‘nduja stirred through. ‘Nduja is a magical concoction of pork, fat and Calabrian chilli, in a spreadable sausage. I mean, YES. I actually can’t have it in the fridge all the time as I find it hard to go past it. The ‘nduja goes perfectly with the sweet onions, and the onions disperse the chilli a bit? You will want to put them in everything. You will want to dry them, and grind them to a powder, and well… use as a rub? (Gotcha!). I think these are a perfect garnish generally, and I plan to make a big batch and keep them in a jar in the fridge to use as I go.

Along with my brazen onions, I also had a perfect Roman tomato that I had brought with three others in my hand luggage home. I had some sorry looking potatoes which I revived by peeling off the limp skin, dicing, par boiling, and then frying gently until completely crisp and fluffy inside. I love a fluffy spud, it tickles my insides and awakes childhood culinary memories as it does. Memories of fields and flowers and summers spend gathering leftover small potatoes to do whatever we wanted with. Usually we tried to make crisps, but we were always disappointed (I have mastered the craft now ;) ). Anything, a country childhood forces you to be creative and I am still grateful for that.

Almost there. (Puglian) oregano is about the only thing that can shout over ‘nduja and calm it down a bit, so I popped some of that on too. For contrast, a little bitterness and some texture, I wilted some baby gem lettuce in the last minute or so. Then an egg, fried until the white is perfectly set and the yolk still runny.

It is good to be back in the kitchen! And back at my desk too.

Happy Monday, all! I hope your week is a good one.

Recipe: Potato & Tomato Hash with an Egg & ‘Nduja Onions

45 minutes
serves 1

Ingredients

‘Nduja onions – I would recommend quadrupling this and storing it in the fridge, if you can

1 red onion, peeled, cut in half and finely sliced
2 tbsp ‘nduja

Potato, Tomato & Lettuce Hash

1 average potato, peeled and diced
1 meaty tomato, peeled, deseed and roughly chopped (or a handful of good cherry tomatoes, halved)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (removed from the stem)
1 small head of baby gem lettuce, washed with leaves removed

1 egg
sea salt
light oil for frying

Method

Heat a tablespoon of oil and add the onions. Cook gently for half an hour or so (longer if you have time), then stir through the ‘nduja. Leave for a further 5 minutes then turn off the heat.

Parboil your potato until just tender, which will take just a few minutes. Heat a further tablespoon of oil in a new frying pan and fry over a medium heat until crisp all over. Add the tomatoes and oregano, the potatoes will get a little squishy, but that is what you want. Cook them for a further 5 minutes. Add the lettuce leaves for just a minute.

At this point I would normally just crack an egg in the middle here, but this morning I fried it in a separate pan. Up to you! I find I get my eggs perfectly right when fried over a medium heat with a lid on top. This allows the white to set perfectly while still having a runny yolk. I am a bit freaky about egg whites, I must confess.

Season the egg and hash with sea salt, and serve the hash with the egg on top, and finish with those feisty ‘nduja onions.

Joy! Enjoy it.

What? You never thought of having almonds with your eggs? Well think about this: how good would a fried almond slick with chorizo oil be dipped into a runny egg yolk? Yeah! Lets get cracking. This is so simple and you will have your breakfast of champions on your table within 10 minutes.

First, lets tackle what is likely at the forefront of your mind. THAT poached egg. Let me let you in on a secret, I poach eggs all the time and my first poached egg for this dish was a disaster. I created my whirlpool as I always do, I even added vinegar as I knew my egg was not as fresh as I would like. I would need a very fresh egg for a great poached egg but vinegar helps tighten a tired white and pull it all together. My poor egg couldn’t handle the whirlpool and the yolk bolted away, the white clinging on only just. The yolk poached perfectly and it is the best bit anyway, but you know, that was a disaster of a poached egg.

Do you feel discouraged? Don’t, 95% of the time these work out fine. My second one was from the same box and so I let the water relax and be still then cracked the egg into a small cup before gently easing it into the water. This one was perfect. And there we are. None of the fuss was warranted, all this egg needed was some water that was not quite boiling (and that is very important too – tiny imperceptible bubbles are what you want). You can fry your egg or even boil it if this is too much of a pulaver but I would walk across hot coals for a perfect poached egg on the mornings that I desire one.

This requires less of a recipe, it is more of a conversation. Fry a handful of chopped chorizo until it starts to release its oil, then add a couple of tablespoons of almonds for a couple of minutes, stirring as you go, coating them in the lovely chorizo oil. This whole time your egg should be cooking, whichever way you want. Add the tomatoes and cook briefly so that they stay firm. Finish with a little salt, to taste, and a flourish of basil. Egg on top.

Lovely, eh? Enjoy!