Italian Scrambled Eggs on Toast

Next week is British Egg Week (5-11 October), and to mark the occasion I've recreated a classic egg dish, with a twist. Scrambled egg is one of the first things I learnt to cook growing up, and as this was before we had a microwave, it was cooked in a saucepan on the hob. Cooking scrambled eggs on the hob is still my preferred way of cooking it, but as this is also the husband's 'speciality' it's usually cooked in a jug, in the microwave, with little stirring (he says the kids prefer it that way!)

I've jazzed my eggs up with a little Italian touch and served them on a toasted ciabatta roll, instead of the usual sliced white. This recipe can serve 1-2, depending on how hungry you're feeling.

Italian Scrambled Eggs on Toast - serves 1

olive oil

4 cherry tomatoes

small knob of butter
3 medium free range eggs

salt & pepper

splash of milk

fresh basil

ciabatta roll, lightly toasted

parmesan

• heat the olive oil in a small saucepan
• add the tomatoes and cook for a few of minutes over a med/high heat until they soften
• remove the tomatoes from the pan & set aside
• add a little butter to the pan and heat until melted
• beat the eggs, salt & pepper & torn basil leaves together
• add to the pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring & scraping the bottom of the pan (I like to use a wooden spatula for this), until the eggs are cooked
• serve with the tomatoes on the ciabatta roll & top with freshly grated parmesan

 

To keep up to date with new recipes next week, follow #BritishEggWeek on twitter.

This recipe has been created for a #shortcuteggsperts challenge. I have been provided with shopping vouchers to cover the cost of my ingredients. More egg recipes can be found here.

Soft Boiled Egg & Seasonal Vegetable Salad

We get through a lot of eggs in this house, whether they're baked into cakes, scrambled on top of toast, cooked into an omelette or just plain boiled. Since getting an induction hob we've found a new love for soft boiled eggs, as it's easier to keep the pan on a rolling boil than it was with our old gas hob.

I'm particularly enjoying a soft boiled egg smashed on top of a crumpet for breakfast or on top of a salad for lunch. The beauty of having a soft boiled egg on a salad is that the egg forms part of the dressing - a bit like a healthy mayo.

 

This seasonal vegetable and egg salad can be eaten warm or cold, but I chose to eat this one cold, smothered with a zesty lemon dressing and runny egg yolk. You don't need to use exactly the sam ingredients as I've used - use whatever you fancy, have in the fridge or is in season.

Soft Boiled Egg & Seasonal Vegetable Salad - serves 2

1 or 2 room temperature eggs

bunch of asparagus

sprouting broccoli

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 red onion, sliced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

few slices of cucumber

juice of half a lemon

tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

sea salt & pepper to taste

• Bring a small pan of water to the boil, add the eggs & simmer for 4.5 minutes
• Remove the eggs & place into a pan of cold water until you need them
• Bring another pan of water to the boil and add the asparagus & broccoli for a minute or 2 (depending on how crunchy you like it)
• Remove and place into a pan of cold water, and then drain
• Add the asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, onion & pepper to a large bowl
• Mix together the lemon, oil & mustard 
• Drizzle over the dressing & toss to coat the vegetables
• Divide the salad into two bowls/plates
• Peel & slice the eggs & add to the top of the salad
• Season with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper & serve

  

This recipe has been created for a #shortcuteggsperts challenge. I have been provided with shopping vouchers to cover the cost of my ingredients. More egg recipes can be found here.

One Pan Egg Ratatouille

This year I'm continuing to work with British Lion Eggs as a 'Shortcut Eggspert', where I'll be sharing my own family recipes using eggs. We eat a lot of eggs as a family, and I'm particularly partial to one or two for breakfast, and if the husband is in charge of dinner (which doesn't happen very often) you can guarantee that it will include eggs as they're quick and easy to cook.

The brief for the first challenge of 2015 was to cook something 'quick and healthy' with eggs as a main ingredient. As I'm trying to shed a few pounds at the moment this challenge was an easy one for me, and I chose to make something that is great as a lunch for one, or served to the whole family (just increase the quantities accordingly).

One Pan Egg Ratatouille - serves 1

olive oil
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/3 courgette, sliced
1/4 red pepper, sliced
1/4 green pepper, sliced
1/4 aubergine, sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
tsp dried thyme
4 mushrooms, sliced
cherry tomatoes
tbsp tomato puree
tbsp hot water
1 egg

• Heat a little olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan
• Add the onion & fry for 2-3 minutes
• Add the courgette, pepper, aubergine, garlic & thyme
• Fry for approx 5 minutes, stirring regularly
• Add the mushrooms & tomatoes & cook for a couple of minutes longer
• Mix together the tomato puree & water & stir into the pan
• Make a well in the middle of the vegetables & crack the egg into it
• Place the pan in a preheated 180C oven and cook for approx 10 minutes, or until the egg is cooked to your liking
• Serve in the pan to save on washing up!

Here are my previous #shortcuteggsperts recipes :

Chicken & Egg Fried Rice


Omelette Fajitas


Roast Dinner Tart

I was provided with vouchers to cover the cost of ingredients used

#shortcuteggsperts - Roast Dinner Tart

For the final #shortcuteggsperts challenge for British Lion Eggs I have been challenged to create a recipe that uses up leftovers as well as eggs. With 5 of us in the house (including one teen with a bottomless pit for a stomach) we don't often have much in the way of leftovers, but if we do they are always put to good use, and never thrown away.

New research by British Lion eggs ahead of British Egg Week (6-12 October 2014) has found that today’s mums are increasingly committed to reducing food waste to save food, time and money - but their biggest challenge is how to feed the family on leftovers and random ingredients at the end of the week. A study of 2,000 mums* found that with the most common days for food shopping being Monday and Saturday, and 55% of mums running out of food 4-5 days after their shop, 67% admit they end up living on scratch meals using leftovers towards the end of the week, peaking on Fridays.

I can definitely relate to these results, and quite often at the end of the week I make random meals to use up the vegetables left in the fridge, be in it a curry, a soup or ratatouille (my favourite). If you have meat and vegetables leftover from your Sunday dinner this recipe is an easy way to use them up, and of course it includes a couple of large free range eggs.

Roast Dinner Tart - serves 4/5

1 sheet of puff pastry

butter for greasing

leftover meat, veg & stuffing - I used roast pork, broccoli, courgettes and mini stuffing balls

1/2 small red onion, sliced

2 large eggs

150g cream cheese

salt & pepper

• Roll out the pastry into a rectangle that would cover a baking tray with raised sides
• Lay a sheet of baking paper onto the baking tray, and grease with butter
• Lay the pastry sheet onto the tray, making sure that the pastry reaches up the sides of the tin
• Prick the base of the pastry with a fork
• Bake in a preheated 200C oven for approx 5 minutes (to avoid a soggy bottom)
• Cut the leftovers into bitesized pieces and scatter over the pastry along with the onion slices
• Beat the eggs and cream cheese together, and season to taste
• Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables
• Return to the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

I have been provided with shopping vouchers to cover the cost of my ingredients

#shortcuteggsperts - Omelette Fajitas

With Summer almost upon us *stares out of window at the rain*, it's time to be thinking about picnics and outdoor eating.  I have been challenged again to come up with a recipe using eggs for the latest #shortcuteggsperts challenge, this time for something speedy that can be taken on a picnic, cooked on a barbecue, or just eaten out in the garden.

Since eating the paleo way I have struggled to find portable meals. If we have a picnic I tend to take a salad in a box, until I figured that a thin omelette could be used in a similar way as a wrap.

These omelette wraps can be used to hold salad, but here I have used them to make fajitas, which can be eaten hot or cold.

Omelette Fajitas - serves 1

2 Eggs, beaten
Olive oil
1 chicken breast, sliced
1/3 Green pepper, sliced
1/3 Red Pepper, sliced
half a red onion, sliced
fresh chilli slices (to taste)*
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
half an Avocado, sliced

• Heat a non stick pan and add the beaten egg
• Fry over a medium heat until almost set on top, then flip over briefly to cook the other side 
• Set the omelette aside whilst the rest is cooked
• Heat a little olive oil and add the chicken
• Fry until browned and cooked through
• Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside
• Add a little more oil to the pan and add the peppers, chilli and paprika
• Fry until softened, and then add the chicken back into the pan
• Lay the chicken and vegetables across the middle of the omelette
• Place the avocado slices on top, and then roll up
• Serve with chilli sauce and/or sour cream

*TIP : store your fresh chillies in a plastic container in the freezer and slice off the amount needed, this will prolong the life of the chillies

I have been provided with shopping vouchers to cover the cost of my ingredients

#shortcuteggsperts - Chicken & Egg Fried Rice

As part of the #shortcuteggsperts project with British Lion Eggs and Britmums,  myself and other #shortcuteggsperts will be coming up with a series of recipe using eggs.

For this month the topic is 'Mains', and the challenge is to come up with a main meal for the family in around 20 minutes. This is one of our favourite quick meals and I usually use leftover cooked roast chicken but this time I used chicken breasts that I had previously cooked in my sous vide thermo circulator, which produced extremely juicy chicken, making it perfect in this dish. It's best to use rice that is cooked and cooled, otherwise it can stick together and if you really want to simplify the dish then packets of pre-cooked microwave rice is ideal. I find that frozen cooked chicken breast strips work well too, just make sure that they are fully defrosted before adding to the pan.

Chicken & Egg Fried Rice - serves 4

 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp ginger paste

400g cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp sesame oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten & seasoned with salt & pepper

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 onion, finely chopped

100g frozen peas

100g frozen or tinned sweetcorn

800g cooked & cooled basmati rice

2-4 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Mix the soy sauce, garlic & ginger paste together in a bowl
Add the chicken and mix until all the chicken has been coated
Heat 1 tsp of sesame oil in a large non stick frying pan or wok
Add the beaten eggs & cook through without stirring to end up with a thin omelette
Remove the omelette from the pan, roll up & keep warm
Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in the pan and fry the onion for approx 1 minute
Ad the peas and corn & fry for a minute or 2 to defrost
Add the rice, chicken and soy sauce (to taste) and heat through fully
Cut the rolled omelette up into thin slices and add to the pan before serving
Serve topped with spring onion