Deep-Fried Egg

These are fun to make and delicious with HP sauce on hot sourdough toast. You will need a very fresh egg that will hold its shape well.
Makes 1

very fresh hen or duck egg 1
vegetable oil for deep-frying
sea salt flakes

1) Begin by breaking the egg into a small bowl.

2) Heat about 10cm of oil in a small but tall saucepan over medium heat. When the temperature reaches 180°C, or when a cube of bread browns in 1 minute, tip in the egg. It will sizzle and spit at first but will quickly start to cook. Coax it into a rounded shape with the help of two dessertspoons.

3) After 1 minute, carefully roll the egg over so that the yolk stays more or less centred in the white. Cook for another 30 seconds or up to 1½ minutes depending on how well you like your eggs cooked.

4) Gently remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sit on top of a piece of sourdough toast. Sprinkle with crunchy sea salt and a grinding of black pepper. Serve right away.

Goose Egg Frittata with Potato, Onions and Piquillo Peppers

Perfect for Sunday morning brunch, a thick tortilla omelette that's a special treat made with goose eggs. If you don't have any, use very fresh organic hen's eggs instead.
Piquillo peppers are form Northern Spain, traditionally roasted over a fire, then peeled and canned. They have a very sweet rich flavour. If you don't have any, use any pepper, either freshly roasted or from a jar.
If you have access to wild garlic, use it instead of parsley.
Serves 4-6 as a light meal, 10-12 as a shared snack

Olive oil 1 tbsp
butter 60g
onion 1, halved lengthways and thinly sliced
dried oregano or thyme ½ tsp
boiled potatoes 3 medium, cut into small cubes
bottled piquillo peppers 3, drained and chopped (or other type of
grilled pepper)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
goose eggs 3 or organic hen's eggs 9
flat leaf parsley chopped, 3 tbsp
or
wild garlic leaves small handful, sliced into thin ribbons

1) Heat a 25-cm non-stick frying pan, then add the oil and half the butter. Fry the onion over medium heat until golden, seasoning with the oregano. Add the potatoes and fry for about 5 minutes until golden on all sides. Stir in the piquillo peppers and season with salt and pepper.

2) While the vegetables are cooking, beat the eggs well then stir in ½ teaspoon of salt, a generous grinding of pepper and most of the parsley or wild garlic.

3) Preheat the grill to hot. Add the remaining butter to the pan. When it foams, quickly pour in the egg mixture, stirring to spread out the filling. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 6-7 minutes until the eggs are almost set. Place under a preheated hot grill for about 3 minutes to finish cooking the surface.

4) Garnish with the rest of the parsley or wild garlic, slide onto a plate and cut into wedges. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Cook's note
• Using the right size pan is important when making a frittata. The pan should
be deep and wide enough to hold a thick omelette but not so large that the
egg mixture spreads out without encasing the filling. A 25-cm diameter pan
is just right for this recipe.

Recipe © Christine McFadden April 2017