Pea & avo smash with fried eggs

Peas with avocado is a modern classic – served with warm blinis and eggs, it has brunch written all over it. Avocado oil, like the fruit itself, is full of healthy fats.

SERVES 4 PREP 20min COOK about 25min

• 4tsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 medium eggs

• Cholula (hot sauce), to serve

FOR THE PEA & AVO SMASH

• 100g (31/2oz) shelled peas

• 2tbsp avocado oil

• 2 avocados, halved and stoned

• 1tbsp lemon juice

• 1tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus a little extra to serve

FOR THE BUCKWHEAT BLINIS

• 40g (11/2oz) buckwheat flour

• 15g (1/2oz) soya flour

• 2 medium eggs, separated

• 130ml (4fl oz) skimmed milk

• 25g (1oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus a knob, to fry

First make the blinis. Put the flours and a pinch of sea salt in a large bowl, add the egg yolks, then gradually blend in

the milk, whisking until smooth. Add the melted butter. Whisk egg whites until stiff in a medium bowl with an electric whisk, and fold them into the batter mixture.

2 Heat a large non-stick frying pan for several minutes over a medium heat, add a knob of butter to start the blinis off, and drop 3 heaped tbsp of the mixture into the pan to give you three pancakes about 8cm in diameter each. Cook for 1½min until golden on the underside, then turn and cook for a further 30-60sec until golden on that side as well. Transfer them to a plate, and repeat with the remaining batter – there should be no need to add any further butter to the pan. You should have 15-16 blinis at the end but you only need 8 for this dish.

3 For the pea and avo smash, bring a small pan of water to the boil, add peas and simmer for 5min, then drain.

4 Tip into a large bowl, drizzle over the avocado oil, season with a little salt and then crush the peas using a potato masher. Leave to cool to room temperature, then scoop out and add the avocado flesh and the lemon juice, and coarsely mash. Stir in the parsley.

5 Heat a medium non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, trickle 2tsp olive oil over the base, crack 2 eggs and fry for 2-3min until lacy and crisp at the edges, basting the yolk with the hot fat until the membrane turns translucent. Transfer to a warm plate and cook the remaining eggs, adding a little more oil to the pan. 6 At the same time, heat a second non-stick frying pan over a low heat and warm eight of the blinis on both sides. Arrange these on plates and spread them with the pea and avo smash. Pop a fried egg on top of each pair, scatter over a little more parsley, if wished, and a grinding of black pepper, then splash with Cholula sauce. PER SERVING: CALS 422; FAT 36.3G; SAT FAT 9G; CARBS 7.2G