Your Sunday Night Hug: Fried Eggs With Potatoes and Peppers

Do you ever get this Sunday night feeling? You know, at the end of a great, sunny weekend, full of your child’s smiles, and laughter, and walks around the park, good food and good company, and a host of simple, little joys. When you realise this is over, and in the morning, once again, you will don your corporate smile, and matching suit, and make your way to work.

When you get this feeling, you want and need something that will help you make the most out of the small slice of weekend you have left. Something comforting and safe.

This is what this dish is. A little piece of sunny Sunday, a bit of a smile on your plate, an edible hug to help you through the week ahead.

You will need (for 2):

4 eggs
1 green pepper
3 medium potatoes
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. In a non-stick frying pan, heat up enough olive oil to come up to about 5 mm deep. Gently fry the potatoes on a medium heat until cooked, but not crisp.

Meanwhile, de-seed the pepper and dice it. Add it to the pan about 10 min after the potatoes. When cooked, drain the vegetables onto kitchen paper and pour the oil out of the pan, reserving just 1 tbsp.

Return the pan to the heat with the reserved oil, and gently fry the onion. Add the potatoes and pepper. Spread in an even layer at the bottom of the pan.

Break the eggs over the vegetables, taking care not to break the yolks, and cook to your liking. Season, then serve with crusty bread.

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Another “No Cheese” Rant: Authentic Gratin Dauphinois

I was fortunate enough to spend 3 years studying in Grenoble, in a part of the French Alps called the Dauphiné. And it just so happens that this region is the birthplace of Gratin Dauphinois (or dauphinoise potatoes as it is called in English).

When I say that I was “fortunate”, it is because at the end of these wonderful 3 years, I headed back home with the recipe for Gratin Dauphinois in my back pocket (and a Master’s Degree in Business, but who cares? You can’t eat a degree).

Now, for those of you who read my Quiche Lorraine post, you will know that I don’t like it one bit when people mess with a beautifully simple recipe. This also applies to Gratin Dauphinois. THERE IS NO CHEESE IN IT, just potatoes, milk, cream, eggs and seasoning. That is all you need!

This gratin is perfect as a side dish with roast meats, or as a main with a few slices of cured meats.

You will need (for 4):

About 1.2 kg potatoes
2 eggs
750 ml milk
4 tbsp double cream
1 clove garlic
100g butter + extra for the dish
Nutmeg
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 C/ fan 180C/ gas 6-7.

Peel the garlic and cut in half. Rub the cut side over the bottom and sides of a large oven dish. Butter the dish.

Peel and wash the potatoes, then cut into 2mm slices.

In a large jug, beat the eggs, then add the cream and milk. Season.

Put a layer of potato slices over the bottom of the dish (you don’t need to be neat), then pour some of the milk mixture over it. Repeat until the dish is full or you have used up all the ingredients.

Season, sprinkle some grated nutmeg on top, and some rosemary. Dot small pieces of the butter all over.

Bake for about 45 min or until golden and cooked through.

Reduce Waste! Eat French Toast!

One the road to coming up with the recipe for my Marvels, I tried different ways of making them, and therefore ended up with some unsatisfactory batches.

One thing I really hate is waste, so I wasn’t about to just bin the cakes. The obvious answer was of course French Toast:

In a bowl, mix 1 beaten egg with a dash of milk and a pinch of cinnamon (I didn’t add any sugar as the cakes were already sweet).

Dip the sliced cakes in the mix, and cook in a frying pan, in a bit of melted butter, until golden on both sides.

Serve on its own or with maple syrup.

The Real Quiche Lorraine (Warning: No Cheese or Onions Allowed)

I am a self-confessed Quiche Lorraine bore.

You see, I am from Lorraine, and therefore consider my recipe to be the definitive one. And I do not tolerate for any liberties to be taken with it. Only shortcrust pastry, lardons, eggs, cream and seasoning are allowed. Nothing more, nothing less.

Because the beauty of Quiche Lorraine resides in its simplicity.

Which is why to me, the addition of cheese is just pure heresy. I pour scorn on the use of onions. And if you dare add mushrooms, peppers, or, horror of horrors broccoli, I shall track you down and force you to listen to Celine Dion’s back catalogue in a loop until you see the error of your ways and promise never to do it again.

Ok, rant over.

Quiche Lorraine is meant to be shared, and perfect for an informal party. It can be made ahead, is delicious hot or cold, and everyone knows that it tastes even better if you ditch the cutlery.

You will need:

300 g plain flour
150 g unsalted butter, cold, diced
200 g lardons (or diced bacon, or pancetta)
3 eggs
250 ml crème fraîche
150 ml double cream
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Make the pastry. In a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and the butter to the flour. Work the flour into the butter between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water to bind, knead briefly then form into a ball (you can of course use a food processor instead if you prefer). Wrap in cling film then chill for 20 min.

Preheat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ gas 6.

Roll out the pastry to line a 28 cm fluted tart tin (re-form any leftover pastry into a ball and freeze for another time). Chill again for 10 min, then line with foil, add baking beans, and bake blind for 15 min. Remove the foil and beans, and return to the oven for 5 min.

While the pastry is in the oven, heat up a non-stick frying pan, and dry-fry the lardons for a few minutes. They should colour slightly, but make sure they don’t get crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

In a large jug, slightly beat the egg, then mix with the creams. Season, being careful not to add too much salt, as the lardons will be quite salty already.

Scatter the lardons over the pastry base, pull the oven shelf partially out of the oven, and place the tin on it. Carefully pour the filling, stopping just below the edge of the pastry. Push the shelf in gently, and bake for about 20 min until golden on top and soft in the middle.

Baked Eggs with Chorizo, Tomatoes and Peppers

I love eggs in every guise, but baked eggs are among my absolute favourite things. This is only one of many ways to have them, and you can vary the recipe depending on what you like, or what you have in your fridge.

You will need (serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main):

6 small tomatoes
1 pepper (any colour you like)
1/2 a red onion
About 40 g chorizo
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
Dried oregano
Salt
Pepper
20 g Parmesan

Method:

Preheat your oven to 220 C/ fan 210 C/ gas 7. Butter 4 ramequins.

Peel and finely chop the onion. Put the tomatoes in a large bowl, pour enough boiling water on them to cover, and leave for a few seconds until the skins start to split. Drain.

Grill the pepper, or spear it with a fork and hold it above the flame of the hob until the skin bubbles and blackens. Wrap in two plastic bags.

When cool enough to handle, peel, quarter, de-seed and dice the tomatoes. Peel, de-seed and dice the pepper. Cut the chorizo into hazelnut-size chunks. Peel and thinly chop the garlic.

Heat up a frying pan on a medium heat, add about 2 tbsp olive oil, and when hot, add the onions, tomatoes, peppers and garlic. Stir, then leave for 1 min.

Add the chorizo and a sprinkle of oregano, fry for about 3 min or until the vegetables are soft. Take off the heat.

Spoon the vegetables into the prepared ramequins, reserving about 4 heaped tbsp . With your spoon, create a slight hollow in the mixture, and break an egg in each one. Top with the reserved mixture, grate the Parmesan on top and put the ramequins on a baking tray.

Put the tray in the oven and bake for 6 min for a runny yolk, 8 min if you like your eggs more cooked.

Serve with some nice, crusty bread to dip.