For the last 6 months, we’ve made a conscious effort to eat less meat at home. For two reasons. Ash had kidney stones and was recommended by his doctor to reduce his intake of animal protein and also because we eat too much meat, and that’s not sustainable. Changing our diet is an easy way of shaping our children’s future.
We’ve both felt much better for it, although in the last few months I have felt more tired than usual and my skin has been playing up. I went to do a full blood check up and it was very apparent I was lacking in protein. Although we eat a super varied diet and I made a conscious effort to stock up on protein rich food such as beans and pulses, oily fish, nuts, leafy greens and greek yoghurt…it still wasn’t enough.
An easy fix is to add more eggs to my diet. I’m not sure why I hadn't been eating them more as I love them and so does Woody.
I mean do you even need a recipe to find something to do with an egg? No, not really, but why limit yourself? These are just two of the many many ways to prepare eggs that I used recently.
I am sure eggs are a staple in most houses, they always come in handy and can produce a dinner in 5mins with very little effort. Potatoes are another thing we always have at home. We don’t cook them often but there’s often a bag of potatoes on the worktop.
Having been away last weekend, we came back once more to a near empty kitchen, apart from eggs and potatoes, so to the boys delight we made kind of ‘ovos rotos’, broken eggs in spanish. There are different variations of this dish, but there’s always a runny egg whether it sits atop fried potato rounds, french fries or crunchy chips varies by region or personal preference. Often served with chorizo or serrano ham, I like to add lardons or otherwise the veggie version is equally satisfying. This one-pan meal is good with a cup of coffee or a beer, it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner material. Very little can go wrong with potatoes and eggs!
Ovos Rotos
Makes: 4 adult servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS
100ml cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
Salt and black pepper
800gr new potatoes,
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 eggs
Chorizo/ lardons or ham (optional)
Flaky sea salt, for serving
Sage
INSTRUCTIONS
Parboil the potatoes in a pot of water for 8 mins until tender. You don’t want them to be too soft otherwise they will break up. Then slice in round slices.
In a pan, add the olive oil, smoked paprika and ground cayenne. Once the oil is hot, add the potatoes and arrange in an even layer then add the onions and garlic and cook until the potatoes are golden brown, 20 mins. If you are using lardons or chorizo, put it in at the same time as the potatoes.
Every 5 mins or so, stir the potatoes, add more oil if they stick too much.
When the potatoes are cooked, make four nests in the potatoes and crack an egg into each. Traditionally you are meant to crack the egg from high up so that it breaks when it hits the potatoes. Sometimes I will fry the eggs separately, because Woody doesn't like the yolk to be broken.
Cook until the whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, no more than 5 minutes.
In a separate pan fry some sage leaves in oil to garnish the potatoes. (optional)
Spoon some potato mixture onto a plate, add your ham (if using) on top and serve with a green salad or sauteed greens.
Another winning dish with eggs is Shakshuka. It’s a great brunch recipe, and very easy to cook for a crowd. It was and probably still is one of our best selling dishes at Cafe Pimpin. It’s a middle eastern dish of poached eggs baked in tomato sauce, there are many many variations to this dish but this is how I like mine. It’s nourishing, filling and one recipe I guarantee you’ll make time and again when you have people coming over for brunch.
Shakshuka
Makes: 4 adult servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
1 onions diced
2 garlic cloves
Olive oil
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
Cayenne pepper if you like the heat
4 large eggs
Feta
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Any mixture of fresh herbs you have, mint, coriander, parsley, dill
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and spices (and cayenne if using)and cook an additional minute.
Pour the can of tomatoes and juice into the pan and break down the tomatoes using a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer. Season.
Use your large spoon to make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well. Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking. You can also put the tomato mixture in an oven dish with the eggs and cook them in the oven for 8-10mins in the oven at 200c. You want the egg white to be cooked but the yolk to be runny.
Garnish with feta and chopped herbs. Serve with bread to mop up the juices.
Have a great week!
Until next time x
Aimee