Tag: eggs

Mayak eggs

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Korean marinated eggs. Silky smooth, savoury, spicy. It’s like Eggs 2.0

  • 4 eggs
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 birdseye chilli, sliced
  • 1 spring onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  1. Put the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, put the lid on and bring to the boil. Then turn the heat right down and simmer for 6 mins. Remove the eggs, run them under the cold tap for 1 min and then peel the shells off
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients together in a large jar, add the peeled eggs and leave in the fridge for 48 hours to marinate before eating with sticky rice and cucumber salad.

Egg curry

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No, stay with me! This will surprise you with its rich tenderness. A velvety coconutty curry sauce, deep in flavour, enveloping perfectly-cooked boiled eggs. Served with a heap of fluffy basmati rice and sauteed greens. Such a good weeknight dinner. Feeds a hungry 2.

  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 3 cm ginger, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 birdseye chillis, slitted with a knife but not fully split
  • 6 curry leaves
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 2 tomatoes, whizzed up with a hand blender or grated
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 4 ‘6-min’ hardboiled eggs, peeled (put in cold water in a small pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 6 mins. Cool under cold running water for 1 min)
  1. Heat oil in large pan pan over low heat and fry the fennel, cumin and fenugreek seeds for 2 mins until fragrant
  2. Add ginger, garlic, whole chillis and curry leaves. Cook, stirring, for around 20 seconds
  3. Add the onions and stir in, cooking over a low heat for 10 mins until completely soft
  4. Stir in ground spices and cook for 1 min
  5. Then add tomatoes, 150ml water and salt
  6. Stick the lid on and cook for 5 mins until the tomatoes are soft and the sauce has combined
  7. Pour in the coconut milk and gently stir to combine until the mixture bubbles
  8. Cook for 5 mins then add the whole boiled eggs and gently poke under the surface
  9. Cook for a further 5 mins and then serve

Soft boiled egg

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Sheer indulgent simplicity. Peeled and halved it’s an essential component of ramen; decadent peeled and lightly squashed atop a corn fritter; and deeply comforting sat jauntily in an egg cup with toast soldiers for dipping.

  • An egg (or up to 4 eggs) – I use large, fridge-cold eggs. If yours are smaller or warmer, reduce the cooking time by a minute
  1. If you can, prick your eggshell with a pin on their rounded bottoms to allow the air inside to escape. Just don’t prick the pointy end by mistake or the egg itself will try to escape from the shell during cooking
  2. Bring a small pan of water to a rolling boil
  3. Gently lower your egg(s) in with a spoon
  4. Set the timer for 7 minutes and turn the heat down to a simmer
  5. When the timer goes off, fish the eggs out with a spoon and serve immediately (or plunge into cold water to stop them cooking)

For hard boiled eggs, do the same but start them in the cold water and start the timer for 7 mins when it comes to the boil. This will give you eggs with tender whites and a still-slightly-squidgy yolk. The cold water plunge is essential with hard boiled eggs, to stop them cooking and prevent a sulphuric grey ring forming around the yolk.

Schinkenflekerl

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A childhood favourite and traditional family recipe for a sort of Austrian answer to macaroni cheese. This is eggy, hammy and pasta-y. Carb heaven! Some recipes add cheese, cream or onions – go ahead if you fancy any or all of them, or keep it simple as below. Feeds 2 generously.

  • 225g pasta shapes (traditionally little square flekerl)
  • Salt & pepper
  • 100g ham, diced
  • 50g salted butter, softened
  • 80g sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  1. Cook and drain the pasta. Run cold water over to cool it and drain again
  2. In a big bowl, beat together butter, sour cream, eggs and seasoning
  3. Add ham and cooked pasta and mix well
  4. Tip into flat ovenproof casserole dish
  5. Bake at 180C fan (200C) for 35 mins until the top is light brown and crisp

Traditional tortilla

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Old school Spanish tortilla. No sweet potatoes, spinach or cheese (not that I don’t love these!) This is a classic for a reason. Feeds 6 or more as part of a tapas.

  • 600g large waxy potatoes
  • 2 onions, finely sliced in half moons
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 10 eggs, whisked well
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Peel the potatoes and cut into 2mm slices. Pat the slices dry with paper towel.
  2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat
  3. Add the onion and potatoes, turn in the oil to coat
  4. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 20-30 mins (until the potato is cooked through and the onions are meltingly soft). During cooking, turn over gently a couple of times with a fish slice or spatula
  5. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and then pour them into the pan over the potato and onion
  6. Cook over a low heat for about 20 mins, then under a medium grill for a further 10 mins so it puffs up and turns golden and the egg is set
  7. Turn out onto a board to serve at room temp

Simple okonomiyaki

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Not that it’s especially complicated in the first place, but this simplified version of the Japanese cabbage pancake, smothered in condiments, is a quick and easy lunch. And still manages to be a veritable party in your mouth! Crunchy, spicy, savoury, creamy, tangy – it’s the ideal way to use up leftover raw white or sweetheart cabbage. Feeds 2.

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • Large handful of shredded cabbage
  • 1 spring onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • Mayonnaise, ideally in a squeezy bottle
  • Sriracha chilli sauce
  1. Make a thick batter with the eggs, flour, sesame oil and soy sauce
  2. Mix in the spring onion and cabbage
  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and, dividing the mixture into quarters, spoon 4 heaps of the cabbage mixture into the pan
  4. Fry on one side for 2 mins until golden brown (don’t be tempted to mess about with it while it’s cooking)
  5. Then flip them, press down gently and give them another 2 mins until cooked through
  6. Serve them straight away with lavish zigzags of mayo and chilli sauce over the top, and tuck in.

Adaptable quiche

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One of my very favourite ‘oh this old thing’ dishes – the very definition of maximum impact for minimum effort.

The recipe is endlessly adaptable – you can incorporate any cooked vegetables or meat. An excellent way to tart up leftovers. Potential options include bits of bacon and roasted cherry tomatoes; roast butternut squash and fresh herbs; sauteed leek, asparagus and peas; caramelised onions with anything. Don’t add anything raw because it won’t cook, or anything watery because it’ll make the whole thing soggy. If you want to add, say, spinach, steam it and then squeeze it out really thoroughly to get rid of the moisture.

  • 2 eggs
  • 150ml single cream (alternatively you can just do all milk instead)
  • 150ml milk
  • 100g grated gruyere (or other strong cheese)
  • 1 packet ready-rolled shortcrust pastry (I know it’s easy, but this is easier)
  1. Take the pastry out of the fridge to come to room temperature and pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. Flap the dough into a 25cm fluted pie tin or dish and press it gently into all the corners. Trim the edges, but not too short as they’ll shrink while it cooks. I like to leave about 1cm poking out over the top
  3. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper (tip: you can use the paper that comes in the packet) and add baking beans to weigh it down. If you have no baking beans, you can use a pile of pennies or rice (although the rice won’t be edible afterwards). Don’t forget the paper or whatever you put on top will stick.
  4. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the paper and beans and continue cooking for 5-7 mins until it’s starting to look golden all over
  5. While it’s baking, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure you’ve got all your other ingredients ready
  6. Bring the cooked pastry case out of the oven, add your filling and then pour over the egg mixture. If you’ve got a fancy oven with shelves that pull all the way out without tipping, you can do this while it’s still in the oven.
  7. Bake for 25-30 mins until puffed up and golden on top, then leave to cool slightly before serving. Recommend a green leaf salad with a spiky lemony dressing to balance out all that rich cheesiness, or iron-rich green veg like broccoli.