Sunday Night Eggs

I am a big fan of eggs, unlike the hippie vegans I used to live with.  Mr. Tree (he was hitting 2 metres tall!) loved to tell me and anyone else who would listen that they were chicken abortions!  He lived on seaweed, tofu, potatoes, honey, peanut butter, soybeans and bread.  He was always hungry, let me tell you!  Frankly, I just think eggs are so delicious and useful.  Sorry to all the chooks out there.    

I do a bit of cooking for our neighbour, and I like to give her a 3-egg omelette each week.  I figure all that protein is fabulous for aged bones.  Mm, I guess I need to eat more eggs ...  

This recipe is from Belinda Jeffery's book In Belinda's Kitchen; it calls for chorizo with the eggs, but as Mr P. and I don't eat a lot of meat, I decided to go for mushrooms.  You gotta be careful with the 'shrooms these days; there have been several deaths here recently due to eating poisonous ones.  They were foraged, and deadly, and one woman is in jail accused of murdering her ex-in-laws!!

lots of flavour here

Serves 2 generously:

ingredients:

2 Tbs EV olive oil

2 medium red onions, diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

2 large red capsicums, chopped into small pieces

1 Tbs sun-dried tomato pesto or tomato paste

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3/4 tsp sugar

1-2 Tbs red or white wine vinegar

200g./7 oz of mushrooms, diced small, or of chorizo, sliced thinly

3/4 tsp sea salt flakes

black pepper, to taste

2 Tbs green or black olives, sliced

4 large eggs (about 60g./2+ oz) 

basil or parsley, chopped, for garnish

Method:

Grab a medium frying pan, chuck in the oil and onion, and let it cook up for about 10 minutes over medium heat, giving it a stir now and then

In go the garlic and chilli, which you cook for a couple of minutes

Turn up the heat and throw in the capsicum/peppers, and stir for about 5 minutes

Whack in the pesto, tomatoes, sugar and vinegar; stir it in and cook for a few more minutes, with the occasional stir

Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan and let it cook away till the capsicum is tender (Belinda says 8-10 minutes)

Your diced mushies go in now, just for a few minutes till tender

Now stir in the salt, pepper and olives - add more vinegar if you wish

So grab a big spoon and make 4 egg-sized dents in the mixture, then break the eggs one by one into each of the dents

And cover the pan again, and let 'em cook gently away to your desired eggy-ness  (I like my yolks a bit runny, tho they ended up fairly set) - once again, Belinda says this will take about 8-10 minutes, though a bit less if you want 'em runny-ish

Throw on the chopped herbs, and serve with bread or as is!

Notes:

After squeezing out the seeds and juice from the tomatoes, I shove it all into a plastic bag, and into the freezer it goes for stews etc

Cook up the chorizo separately in a frying pan for 5 minutes if using, and place them into the veg. mixture at the end of cooking

squeeze out those seeds!

do some chopping

fry up the onion

and the capsicum

add the mushies

on go the eggs and the herbs

and down the hatch it goes (i.e. - ready to eat!)

(Joining in with Min from Write of the Middle blog for #WWWhimsy)

c. Sherry M.

Bill Granger's Famous Scrambled Eggs

As Australian foodies will be aware, the lovely Bill Granger died recently from cancer.  He was the man we can all acclaim/blame for smashed avocado on toast for breakfast.  Remember how millenials were being blamed for paying too much for their avo on toast breakfasts rather than paying a mortgage?  So funny! and crazy.

Mr P. and I have actually had breakfast at Bill's restaurant in Bondi more than once on trips to Sydney.  And yep, they are fabulous.  So this latest time, I had his famed scrambled eggs which are made with pretty much equal parts egg to cream.  I went a bit more healthy and used evaporated milk rather than cream in my version - but still delicious!

We last visited bill's at Bondi in January 2023, when we drove down to attend our dear friend's wake.  She was 91, and we had known her since we were youngsters in our twenties.  It was a wet day when we turned up at bill's, so they took our mobile number and texted us when there was a spare table.  The food and service were great as usual.  Bill is sadly missed by the Aussie food scene, though he and his family had been living in London for some time.

delish! +smoked salmon, pickled cukes, sweet potato fries and kewpie mayo

Serves 1:

ingredients:

2 large eggs per person

6 Tbs cream (or use milk or evaporated milk)   see Notes

a big pinch of sea salt

(I tripled the recipe so I used 6 eggs and only 300 mL/10 oz evap. milk)

2 tsp butter per person (per 2 eggs)

lots of freshly-ground black pepper

herbs of your choice, chopped (optional)

Method:

Whisk the eggs with cream and salt in a mixing bowl

Melt the butter in your non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat

Once the butter is bubbling, add the eggy mixture

Let it sit for 30 seconds, then ever-so-gently stir it around with a spatula, folding them over one another a wee bit  (check the photo)

When the eggs are almost cooked, take them off the heat and out of the pan onto a plate

Sprinkle with black pepper and herbs

Serve with toast (and avo), or as I did, with smoked salmon, pickled cucumbers (see Notes), sweet potato fries and kewpie mayo

Notes:

Aussie tablespoons are 20 mL/0.7 oz. rather than the U.S. size of 15 mL/0.5 oz., and a large Aussie egg is around 60g./2 big oz.-65g./2.3 oz.

I quick-pickled my cukes in vinegar, water, 1 tsp sugar, some sea salt and chilli flakes for a short time before dinner

ingredients gathered

pour the eggy mixture into the bubbling butter

soft tender curds!

add on the smoked salmon and pickled cukes

tasty and flavourful

Vale Bill Granger!  Thanks for the memories, and the great food.

image from Wikimedia Commons (author: Alice.jessica.north)

(Joining up with Min from Write of the Middle blog for #WWWhimsy)

c. Sherry M.

Skinklada aka Swedish Baked Omelette

Don't you just love the name of this dish?  One of the small native lizards here in Australia is the Eastern Water skink, which is what this dish brings to mind.  Just because of the name, not the flavour or look of it, you understand.  Though then again, I've never tried a skink omelette ...  I have eaten wallaby sausage though, and a kangaroo burger.  

This recipe is also from the book Tried Tested and True by Liz Harfull.  Apparently, it's a very traditional, Swedish baked omelette.  This recipe was brought back to Australia by Mary Lindqvist, who was briefly married to the Swedish Vice Consul in Egypt in 1934.  Sadly, he died 18 months after the wedding.  

So Mary came home with a few recipes, including this one.  Mary tells us that the Swedes "must have special stomachs, honed by centuries of training," as she faced gargantuan meals in Sweden.  Happily, this dish is light and full of delicious protein; great for lunch or a light supper. 

just add salad and relish

Serves 2:

ingredients:

100g./3.5 oz ham, bacon or hot-smoked salmon or trout, diced - see Notes

a big handful of herbs, chopped - I used parsley and chives

some dried chilli flakes if you like - I did!

4 large eggs

500mL/17 oz milk

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

On goes the oven to 180C/355F

Butter your 25cm./9 inch pie dish liberally

Cast the protein of your choice over the base of the pie dish

Then scatter over the herbs and chilli flakes

Grab a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together and add the salt and pepper

Pour the egg mixture gently over the fish (or meat), and bake for 25 minutes or till set

Serve with a lovely green salad, and a spicy tomato or capsicum relish

Notes:

I doubled the recipe as the one in the book is for 1 person

Liz suggests using a  23cm. pie tin and baking for 30 minutes; I only have 25cm. tins so it took a little less time to bake

Use mushrooms or another vegetable to make this vegetarian, or maybe just some grated vintage cheddar

Mary apparently suggested using smoked salmon or anchovies for this dish!  Anchovies ... mmm, maybe

little fishies

ingredients gathered

scatter herbs and chilli over the fish

pour over the eggy mixture

and bake at 180C for about 25 minutes

Mysteriously, this photo has a different pie tin?!  I can't remember why; I guess I made two of them ...

delicious with a salad for dinner

and here's a tea towel with the recipe,
which you can buy on Etsy :=)

c. Sherry M.

Shirred Eggs With Potato Purée

Yep I'm at it again.  Ruth (Reichl) and I are like that I tell you - picture your index and middle fingers entwined.  I am still going through her latest book My Kitchen Year, as regular readers will confirm.  Having had such success with 3 of her recipes, I am going for number 4. Anyway, who doesn't love potato whipped up with loads of cream? You may be fibbing if you say no, my friends.

When I think of eggs, I think of our childhood stories: our neighbour's mad chooks that were insanely aggressive and attacked us as we sat on the outside loo.  I think of our little fox terrier who used to chase after another neighbour's chooks, and snap their necks.  And I think of a friend's dad who used to take their chooks by the neck and grab his axe... Nothing like seeing a headless chook run around when you are a wee girl.


Anyway, here is Ruth's recipe, which serves 4.  Eating these will certainly calm your nerves, and quieten the gory childhood memories.


ingredients:


500g. (a pound) of potatoes - (use a variety that's all purpose)

a few grinds of black pepper

60g. (3 tbs) of butter, plus extra for greasing the ramekins

185 mLs (3/4 cup) cream

4 large eggs

salt and pepper to taste

herbs for sprinkling on top; try parsley or chives



Method:


Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks, and plop them into a large saucepan

Cover with cold water and add 1 tsp sea salt

Bring to the boil, then turn down and let it simmer away for about 15-20 minutes till potatoes are tender but not soggy:=)

Drain them very well and then mash 'em with great gusto; use a ricer if you have one; you want these babies as smooth as... well, a baby's bottom

Grind in some pepper

Now melt the butter and stir in 125 mLs (half a cup) of the cream

Whisk the cream and butter mixture into the potatoes

Season to taste

Turn on your oven to 190C/375F

Put your kettle on the hob, or just switch on the electric one

Take 4 x 1 cup-sized ramekins and butter them with the extra butter

Divide the potato mix equally into each ramekin

Very gently break an egg over each one

Place the ramekins in a deep baking dish with boiling water (from the kettle/jug you just boiled) about half-way up

Bake for 8 minutes

Spoon the rest of the cream over the eggs and bake for another 6-8 mins. depending on how runny you like your eggs

Sprinkle on the herbs and a little salt and pepper

Great for breakfast, or add a big salad for brunch/lunch



Notes:

Don't worry if you have a bit over potato-wise; I used 510g. 'cos that's what 3 potatoes weighed

ingredients gathered

potatoes boiled and drained

potatoes mashed and ready for the good stuff 

butter and cream mixture whisked in 

break an egg over the potato purée 

spoon over the rest of the cream after 8 mins. baking  

after the second bit of baking, throw on the herbs and seasoning

oh so delish! a runny yolk makes it even better  

So yes kudos to Ruth; once again she has come up trumps.  Mr P. ended up eating 2 of these for his lunch.  The potato purée is just so tasty and moreish, it is hard to stop at one.  You may be seeing more of Ruth's recipes here soon.

my eggy doodle