The Food Diaries

A sort of Mexican breakfast

A really fresh and zesty breakfast option (or brunch) to set you up for a busy weekend day.

Finely chop 1 small ripe tomato and place in a bowl along with the juice of 1/2 lime and 1 finely chopped spring onion (white part only). Set aside.

In a hot pan place a corn tortilla, cover with a slice of cheddar cheese, sprinkle on a little chilli powder and cover with a second corn tortilla. Press down with a spatula to seal and fry till golden on both sides and the cheese has started to melt. Transfer the quesadilla to a cutting board.

In the same pan add a drizzle of olive oil and a handful of sliced swiss chard and/or spring onion greens. Stir fry till wilted. Move to the side of the pan and add two eggs and fry till set. Season with sea salt.

Serve the eggs, alongside the chard, salsa, corn tortilla (cut into wedges) with a spoonful of sour cream (optional).

Cinnamon French toast bites

Sometimes the best culinary ideas happen by accident. Say you have some leftover, stale, bite-sized squares of a country loaf (which you served on New Year’s with the cheese fondue) and you are about to throw them out, when you have the brainwave to add them to a mixture of an egg or two and a dash of milk, turning them around till the liquid is all absorbed. Add a dollop of butter into a pan, and when it just starts to sizzle add the the bread pieces and fry till golden on all sides. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and sea salt and turn in the heat for another minute before piling onto a plate and serving with a drizzle of maple syrup.

It’s as if you’ve taken the best bit of the French toast (those crispy, golden edges) and made this breakfast all about that.

You may also be interested in:

BAKED FRENCH TOAST >

Omelette with soft cheese and chives

This is a quick and delicious recipe - the soft, tart cheese offsetting the richness of the eggs brilliantly. Worth a couple of attempts to get the omelette technique down right - then it should be clear sailing all the way.

In a small, non-stick frying pan add a little rapeseed oil and spread across the pan using a kitchen towel. Place on a medium heat and add three eggs. Using a heat-proof spatula start scrambling them in the pan to mix the yolks and white together. Draw in the uncooked edges as well. Then, once the mixture is half-cooked, leave the bottom to set and add dollops of soft cheese (Philadelphia will do) and chopped chives to the centre.

Once the omelette is done (some like it more wobbly than others) flip over the edge (the one closest to the handle of the pan) into the centre of the omelette. Now slide onto a plate, folding the omelette over the other, open side.

Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

You may also be interested in:

POACHED EGGS MADE EASY >

The Breakfast Club: Avocado & scramble egg tortilla

In a small pan wiped with a little cooking oil, break two eggs and add a small handful of grated white cheese. Scramble the eggs on medium heat till they reach the desired consistency. Stir in 4-6 quartered cherry tomatoes. Season with sea salt, pepper and a little chilli sauce. Pile into 3-4 corn tortillas, warmed (either in the microwave or in a dry, covered pan on the hob), add a slice of avocado and a squeeze of lime.

You may also be interested in:

MEXICAN POACHED EGGS >

Scrambled eggs with pancetta

This takes all of 5 minutes to prepare - so is a perfect option for a lazy weekend morning.

In a small pan place 35g (1/4 cup) of chopped pancetta (I buy them ready-packed in the supermarket - otherwise French lardon or English bacon will do fine) with a knob of butter and fry till golden. In the meantime, break a couple of eggs (I like Burford Brown as the yolks are so rich and deep yellow) into a bowl and add a dash of milk. Beat with a whisk till the eggs start to foam (a couple of minutes).

Remove the pancetta with a slotted spatula and transfer to a plate. While the pan is still hot pour in the egg mixture and let sit 15 seconds. Now immediately turn the heat down to low and using a heat-proof spatula (or wooden spoon) stir the eggs around till set to desired level of wobbliness. Mix in the pancetta and a squeeze of chilli sauce (optional), as well as some sea salt and pepper.

Serve with a sprinkling of chives on two slices of toasted bread.

You may also be interested in:

CORN FRITTERS >

FRENCH TOAST >

Baked French Toast

This is fab for those not so keen on cooking first thing on a lazy weekend morning. Everything is prepared the night before and then popped into the oven straight from the fridge the next morning.

Cut thick (1-inch) diagonal slices into a soft-crust loaf of bread (it can be anywhere between fresh and stale) - around 10 slices. Generously butter a baking dish and one side of each slice and place in the baking dish ((one which fits the slices very snuggly - squeezed together if necessary). Whisk together 3 large eggs and 300ml milk and 1/4 tsp salt and pour over the bread. Chill, covered between 1 and 24hrs (till all the liquid is absorbed).

Take out of the fridge, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 175c till the top is golden (20-25 min). Serve with maple syrup (of course).

You can of course pan fry the slices in a little butter and vegetable oil instead if you can’t be bothered with the oven.

You may also be interested in:

POACHED EGGS MADE EASY >

Asparagus Mimosa

I think this may be the last of the asparagus recipes, as we are now at the close of the season; ending where we began, with the long green tender shoots of asparagus.

This is a lovely and simple recipe, which can look particularly dramatic if you use eggs which have a deep orangey hue to them (in the UK I only use the Burford Brown variety).

Take a bunch of asparagus (around 350g) and either boil, steam or grill them till just tender. Place on a serving dish. In the meantime, in a pan of boiling water carefully place 2 large eggs, and simmer for 9 minutes. Immerse immediately in cold water, then peel, separate the yolks and the whites, and chop. To make the dressing mix together 1 tsp Dijon mustard, the juice of half a lemon, 2 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tbs mixed chopped herbs (from parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil), some sea salt and pepper. Mix in the egg whites and spoon over the centre of the asparagus spears. Sprinkle over the yolks, add a little more salt and pepper.

You may also be interested in:

ASPARAGUS & PARMESAN >

SIMPLE POACHED EGGS >

Mexican breakfast - corn tortilla with poached eggs

Here’s a simple way to make Mexican-style eggs without all the bother of Huevos Rancheros (who needs so many dishes to clean on a weekend morning?). Poach a couple of eggs (I love these little silicon poach pods). Warm 3 small corn tortillas (in the microwave or in a frying pan for a crispier finish). Overlap the tortillas on a large plate, spread a little Adobo sauce (Puree a can of Chipotle chillies in adobo sauce - this keeps well in the fridge), top with your eggs, a sprinkling of salt, pepper, lime juice and some snipped chives.