Tag: eggs

Grand Marnier Soufflés

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

And now for a little something fancy…

Nat whipped up these delicate, Gabriel Gaté (remember him?) soufflés as part of a dinner party we had a few weeks back and they were a triumph.

It had been a while since I had had a soufflé and they did not disappoint.

Soft, airy, a wonderful flavour served with a dollop of cream.

I guess there are some people that don’t like quiches or avocado. For the rest of us, assume that soufflés are a big wow and two steps up from your usual dinner-party dessert.

Plenty of reason why you should serve these at your next dinner-party.

Ingredients

60ml Grand Marnier
310ml Crème pâtissière, chilled (below)
6 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra for preparing moulds
Icing sugar for dusting
Double cream

Crème pâtissière

500ml milk
½ vanilla pod, split lengthways
4 egg yolks
100gm caster sugar
50gm plain flour, sifted

Method

  1. For the Crème pâtissière: place milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and whisk well.
  2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar into a heatproof bowl for 2 minutes. Whisk in sifted flour. Remove vanilla pod from milk and pour hot milk into the egg-yolk mixture, whisking well.
  3. Return to the saucepan and bring to the boil over medium-heat, whisking constantly. When mixture is just boiling and has thickened, transfer to a heatproof bowl. Whisk for a few seconds more and set aside to cool in the refrigerator. Stores up-to 4-days.
  4. For the soufflés: Preheat the oven to 150c. Butter 6 185ml ramekins and dust with caster sugar.
  5. Whisk Grand Marnier into crème pâtissière. Using electric beater, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until almost stiff. Add caster sugar and beat until firm.
  6. Using a spatula, mix a little of the egg white mixture into crème pâtissière; gently fold in the rest. Spon the mixture into the prepared ramekins, making sure it doesn’t touch the rim. Smooth the tops with the spatula.
  7. Back for 5 minutes then increase the temperature to 205c. Bake for a further 5 minutes then increase the temperature to 230c and bake for a further 5 minutes.
  8. Remove from the oven, dust with the icing sugar and serve immediately with a dollop of cream (or ice cream).

Spicy Tomato Baked Eggs

.Reading time 1 minute.
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Yes… an amazing way to start Sunday.

Serves: 4

We love our weekend breakfasts and this number we whipped up last week was just awesome; so spicy, so rich, so hot.

Add a side of avocado and a good coffee and you’re off to the best Sunday morning of anyone in your street; add a French champagne and you’re talking streets and streets!

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 red chillis (de-seeding is optional) and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
Small bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves chopped separately
2 x 400gm cans cherry tomatoes
2 chorizo, diced
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp caster sugar
4 eggs
Oiled, grilled Turkish bread sliced to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan that fits a lid; soften the onions, chilli, garlic, chorizo and coriander stalks for 5 or so minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and then simmer for 10 or more minutes until thick.
  2. Using the back of a large spoon, make four dips in the sauce and then crack and egg into each one. Put a lid on the pan (or cover with foil) and then cook the eggs through over a low heat for 6 – 8 minutes; halfway through, scatter the parmesan cheese.
  3. Serve with the coriander leaves on top.

Karen Martini’s Spiced Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Eggs and Coriander

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Meatballs out of the oven and waiting for the passata and eggs.

Serves: 4

I am yet to do a Karen Martini recipe that hasn’t been a keeper and this is no exception.

What a Sunday night treat, served with this clever Adam Liaw salad.

The spicy lamb meatballs are divine, what with the richness of the egg and the sweetness of the tomato sauce. And it all presents beautifully.

Sadly, so well that you will struggle to make a lunch out of it the next day. This really is a dish that is hard to stop eating.

Both of the boys loved them with Oliver describing them as ‘better than better’. Little did he know he was eating chilli, sumac and coriander.

A winner on all fronts.

Ingredients

1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
½ bunch coriander, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
½ onion, finely diced and cooked with a little oil until soft
500gm lamb mince
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
7 eggs
½ bunch parsley, leaves picked
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked
2 tbsp sumac
8 tbsp tomato passata
1 lemon, juiced

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Place spices, chopped parsley and coriander, salt, onion, lamb, 1 egh and breadcrumbs in a large bowl and combine well with your hands.
  3. Roll lamb mixture into 8 oval football shapes, coat in parsley and coriander and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with sumac and bake for 15 minutes; remove from the oven.
  4. Spoon passata into an ovenproof dish, place meatballs on top, crack 6 eggs over the top and bake for 12 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve.

Basic Hollandaise Sauce

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

I believe that Hollandaise Sauce is one of those staples that Gordon Ramsay demands you cook for him in Kitchen Nightmares (which of course you can’t) before he rubbishes your grubby restaurant and then rebuilds it by simplifying your menu, throwing out all your furniture and putting a sign out front.

So best you know this simple and classic version then, kindly supplied (though not cooked) by my father.

My mother bemoans that she fast-tracks this sauce by using a food processor though I don’t know what she is talking about. I doubt Gordon would either and not before he threw a chair at you.

Get the water-bath going and do it right.

(And have an ice-cube ready if the sauce splits; just whisk it in a voila!)

Ingredients

4 large egg yolks
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
170gm (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of cayenne
Sea salt

Method

  1. Position a large heatproof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
  2. In the bowl, whisk the yolks, lemon juice, and mustard until well combined.
  3. Gradually whisk in the butter in a thin stream and keep whisking until the sauce is thick enough for the whisk to leave tracks that hold for a couple of seconds, 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Whisk in the cayenne and season to taste with salt.
  5. Keep the sauce warm in its bowl set over the simmering water, whisking occasionally, until ready to use.

Spaghetti Carbonara

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

Almost everyone claims to have an amazing pasta recipe in their repertoire.

Often, this is a Carbonara.

For me, Carbonara is the king of pastas, be it spaghetti, fettucine or farfalle. Indeed, it is very rare for me to go past a Carbonara in an Italian restaurant, especially when I know it will be one of those terrible though amazing cream-based numbers with enough calories to whack an elephant.

This recipe – originally from my mother – is one I have been cooking since I was a teenager. In fact, for as long as I can remember cooking, I have been doing this number.

It is perfect after a long day at the beach or shopping. Bottle of wine, something on TV and you will be in absolute heaven.

Ingredients

9 slices bacon, trimmed and julienned
6 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons butter
½ c julienned ham or prosciutto
12 tbsp grated parmesan + extra to sprinkle
6 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
Spaghetti or other pasta

Method

  1. Cook the pasta.
  2. Brown the bacon and pour off any fat. Add the olive oil, butter and ham and sauté for 5 minutes without browning.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and beaten eggs. Place over heat only sufficiently to firm up the sauce.
  4. Season with salt and pepper and pour over spaghetti.
  5. No regrets.

Egg and bacon breakfast muffins

.Reading time 1 minute.
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HP sauce optional unless your name is Natalie Ashes.

Serves: 2 per person

I think Nat made fun of me when I mentioned I was cooking these.

Though you’ll be the one having the last laugh when you realise you can have bacon and eggs literally every day of the week. Mind blown right!

I used to cook a dish my mother taught me where in a ramekin, you put a pile of cooked bacon lardons, crack two eggs, fill almost to the top with pouring cream, season and bake. And wow this was good, but not every day.

Whereas with these muffins, you’re in luck.

Add spinach, chilli, corn, mushrooms, whatever you want. Or keep them simple like I have and demand apologies the next morning when you are being selective in who receives these breakfast gold nuggets.

Ingredients

6 eggs
6 rashers of shortcut bacon (c’mon, it’s the week; be healthy!)
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. Grease 6 muffin tins.
  3. Somehow, shoehorn the back in there as a cup or whatever.
  4. Crack the egg inside, ensuring that egg white fills the tin and the yolk remains in-tact.
  5. Season and bake in the oven for 15 or so minutes until the egg has set.
  6. Fridge or freezer; eat with a ‘told you so’ smirk as your partner grovels over her Monday morning BACON & EGGS!

Berber Tagine Omelette

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves 4

I found this recipe on SBS Food by mistake.

It originates from Morocco, and is so simple to do, the spices turning into a wonderful sauce with the onion and tomato. I cooked it years ago for brunch though this is an anytime dish.

And almost as good as Nat’s famous Mexican eggs.

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground paprika
10 tomatoes, peeled and diced
7 eggs, beaten
1 handful, chopped coriander
Salt and Pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Heat some olive oil in the tagine on the stove, and gently cook the onions for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the spices and cook for a further 3 minutes.
  4. Add the tomatoes and coriander and then simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a sauce consistency.
  5. Remove from the heat and pour the beaten eggs over the sauce, cover the tagine lid and place in the over for about 10 – 15 minutes or until it lightly puffs and sers.
  6. To serve, season well and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Jamie Oliver’s Mexican Breakfast: Chilli tomato stew, eggs and cheese wrapped in tortillas

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves 6

I am not usually very adventurous with breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon or an Eggs Benedict is my go to in pretty much any hotel or café; occasionally an omelette as long as it has ham, cheese and mushroom.

I do cook pancakes from time-to-time, though with some chopped parsley, milk and garlic powder, scrambled eggs and few slices of buttered toast are my regular offering to the boys and Nat on a Sunday morning; boring perhaps, comfortable yes.

I had these eggs cooked for me for my last birthday and with a flute of good French, this dish reminded me of why being adventurous can come with such reward.

Are these the best eggs ever? My mother thinks Kylie Kwong has this honour stitched up whilst my father thinks Roger Verge’s Fried Eggs with Wine Vinegar wins.

For me – this Mexican breakfast – is way up there and a fabulous way to celebrate someone’s birthday; if you’re celebrating the birthday of someone my age, it will definitely be the best present they get.

Go Jamie Oliver. Go Nat!

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 red peppers, deseeded and finely sliced
2 fresh red or orange chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
1 large dried chilli
3 fresh bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2x 400gm tins chopped tomatoes
2 large tomatoes, sliced
6 large eggs (free range Nat!)
6 tortillas
150gm grated cheddar cheese, to serve
Method

  1. In a large fry pan (with a fitted lid) or a tagine (which we used and is far more dramatic for purposes of presentation), heat the oil to a medium-high heat.
  2. Add the onion, garlic, pepper, both the fresh and dried chillies, bay leaves and a good pinch of salt and pepper; stir and cook for 15 minutes to soften and caramelise.
  3. Add the tinned tomatoes and try to break them up/mash them a little as they combine and cook; bring to the boil and then reduce and simmer for five or so minutes as the sauce thickens and reduces slightly.
  4. Check the seasoning and then layer the fresh tomato slices over the sauce.
  5. Make six wells in among the tomato slices and sauce and crack the eggs into the wells; try to crack them as quickly as possible so they cook consistently.
  6. Season the eggs and cover the pan for 3 – 4 minutes or until the eggs are poached to your liking.
  7. Whilst the eggs are cooking, warm the tortillas in the oven or microwave.
  8. At the table, sprinkle some of the cheese on a tortilla and add an egg with the sauce and tomato; wrap it up and enjoy with Champagne.