FOR THE CRACK
We’ve put all our eggs in one basket here for cracking takes on breakfast, but add wine and salad and they’ll serve you well at any time of day.
These cracking takes on morning eggs will serve you well any time of day – just add wine and salad.
Egg sandwich
This ultra-simple sandwich is our take on the signature served at Hong Kong’s Australia Dairy Company. Shaved leg ham would add another dimension, as would toasting one side of the bread slices, but we love the simplicity of this straight-up version. It’s definitely a case of a dish being greater than the sum of its parts.
Prep time 10 mins, cook 5 mins
Makes 4
8 eggs
300 ml pouring cream
2 tsp light soy sauce
30 gm butter, diced, plus extra, softened for spreading
8 thick slices soft white bread from a square loaf, crusts trimmed
1 Whisk eggs, cream and soy sauce in a bowl to combine and season to taste. Melt butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add egg mixture and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until egg is just set (3-4 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, butter bread, then top half the slices with scrambled egg, sandwich with remaining slices and serve.
Drink suggestion A nice cup of tea.
Bacon and egg pudding with salted maple
Think of this as a savoury bread and butter pudding. It’s full of all the things we love at breakfast – bacon, eggs, toast and plenty of cheese. It’s an excellent option if you’re having friends over for breakfast – you can do all the work the night before and bake it in the morning. Salted maple syrup riffs on the classic American bacon-maple combination.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 1¾ hrs (plus soaking)
Serves 4-6 (pictured p111)
8 thick slices of sourdough bread or 4 English muffins, split in half
20 gm butter, diced, plus extra for greasing 1 leek (white part only), thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp thyme, plus extra leaves to serve
250 gm crème fraîche
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream
8 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) milk
1 tsp Tabasco
6 rashers streaky bacon, rinds removed, plus extra crisp bacon (optional), to serve 150 gm Gruyère, coarsely grated 30 gm finely grated parmesan Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Salted maple
125 ml ( 1/ cup) maple syrup 2
20 gm butter, diced
1 tbsp bourbon (optional)
1 Preheat oven to 180C and butter a 2-litre baking dish. Place bread in a single layer on an oven tray and bake until light golden
(3-4 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add leek, garlic and thyme, and sauté until leek is tender and translucent
(4-5 minutes).
3 Whisk crème fraîche, mustard and half the cream in a bowl until smooth. Add eggs, milk, Tabasco and remaining cream, whisk to combine, then season custard to taste.
4 Layer bread in baking dish, tucking bacon rashers in between, then scatter with Gruyère and pour custard over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to soak (or overnight).
5 For salted maple, boil maple syrup in a large saucepan until caramelised (2-3 minutes).
Remove from heat, add butter, bourbon and 50ml water (be careful, hot caramel will spit), then return to heat and bring back to the boil. Stir in ½ tsp sea salt, then stand at room temperature until required. Salted maple will keep in an airtight container for a week.
6 Preheat oven to 150C. Scatter pudding with parmesan, season to taste and bake until golden brown (1-1½ hours). Stand for 10 minutes, then scatter with flat-leaf parsley and thyme, and serve with salted maple and extra bacon.
Wine suggestion Sparkling shiraz.
Smoked trout scramble
Scrambled eggs make the perfect base for any number of flavour combinations – here we’ve gone for the richness of hot-smoked trout offset by fragrant herbs and spicy sriracha for a breakfast guaranteed to please. A handful of roasted salted peanuts would be an excellent addition if you have them to hand.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 5 mins
Serves 4
8 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lime, plus extra lime cheeks to serve
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200 gm hot-smoked trout
Bean sprouts, coriander, mint, thinly sliced spring onion and sriracha sauce, to serve
1 Whisk eggs, cream, rind and juice in a bowl to combine, and season generously to taste. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add egg mixture and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until egg is just set (3-4 minutes).
2 Top scrambled egg with flaked trout, bean sprouts, coriander, mint and spring onion, drizzle with sriracha and serve with lime cheeks.
Wine suggestion Blanc de blancs Champagne.>
Fried egg and salami sandwich
Fried eggs and crisp salami make happy partners, particularly layered on grilled ciabatta – it’s an ideal weekend breakfast, but would be just as good for lunch, dinner or a late-night snack.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 15 mins
Serves 4
40 ml olive oil
16 slices flat sopressa
8 eggs
Toasted ciabatta and aïoli, to serve
Fried herb sauce
125 ml ( 1/ cup) olive oil
2
2 tbsp sage
2 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp thyme
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 For fried herb sauce, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering, add sage and fry for 20 seconds until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon, then repeat with rosemary and thyme. Set oil aside to cool, then chop fried herbs and combine in a bowl with parsley, lemon juice, vinegar and garlic. Season to taste, then stir in enough cooled oil to form a drizzling consistency. 2 Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add sopressa and fry, turning occasionally, until crisp (1-2 minutes). Drain on paper towels. Reduce heat to medium and fry eggs in batches until cooked to your liking (2-3 minutes for soft yolks), then drain on paper towels.
3 Spread toasted ciabatta with aïoli, top with salami and fried eggs, season to taste and serve hot with fried herb sauce.
Drink suggestions Hot coffee (morning), cold beer (evening).>
Double eggs and soldiers
Think of this as an ultra-luxe take on everyday eggs and soldiers, with rich buttery brioche fingers and salmon roe for a briny contrast. For an even more extravagant twist, serve these with caviar instead of salmon roe.
Prep time 10 mins, cook 15 mins
Serves 4 (pictured p110)
50 gm butter, diced
8 thick (2.5cm) slices day-old brioche, crusts removed, cut into fingers
8 eggs, at room temperature
Crème fraîche and salmon roe, to serve
Lemon salt
2 tsp sea salt flakes
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind 1 tsp finely chopped dill
1 Preheat oven to 150C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat and, when foamy, add brioche fingers and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over (2-3 minutes). Transfer to tray and keep warm in oven.
2 Cook eggs in a large saucepan of gently boiling water (7 minutes for soft yolks), then drain well.
3 Meanwhile, for lemon salt, combine ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
4 Serve boiled eggs with brioche soldiers, crème fraîche and salmon roe, and lemon salt.
Wine suggestion Rosé Champagne.
Soft polenta with poached egg and parmesan
We’ve opted for coarse polenta, which takes a little longer to cook but has more texture. For a quicker result, use instant polenta instead – the texture will be a lot smoother.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 50 mins
Serves 4 (pictured p114)
200 ml milk
200 gm coarse polenta
50 gm butter, diced, plus 30gm extra, melted 80 gm parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
4 large flat mushrooms
70 ml olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Finely grated rind of ½ lemon
1 bunch cavolo nero, stalks trimmed
150 ml vegetable or chicken stock
4 eggs
Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 200C. Bring milk, 800ml water and 1 tsp sea salt to the boil in a large saucepan. Rain in the polenta, whisking continuously to combine, bring back to a simmer and whisk for
2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking occasionally at first, then more frequently as the polenta thickens, until thick and no longer grainy (40-45 minutes). Whisk in diced butter and parmesan, and season generously to taste.
2 Meanwhile, place mushrooms stalk-side up in a roasting pan. Combine melted butter, 40ml olive oil, garlic and lemon rind in a bowl, season to taste, then drizzle mixture over mushrooms and roast until tender (10-12 minutes).
3 Spread cavolo nero in a single layer on a separate roasting pan, drizzle with stock and remaining olive oil, season to taste and roast until wilted (5-6 minutes).
4 Bring a saucepan of water with a splash of white vinegar added just to a simmer. Swirl water to create a whirlpool, crack in an egg and poach until cooked to your liking, then drain on paper towels and repeat with remaining eggs.
5 Divide polenta among bowls, top with cavolo nero, poached eggs and mushrooms, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, scatter with extra parmesan and serve hot.
Wine suggestion Rich, bottle-aged chardonnay.
Egg and rice bowls
Known as tamago gohan, this classic Japanese comfort dish is served piping hot with a raw egg cracked on top, which is then mixed into the rice until it’s fluffy. The heat from the rice is enough to gently scramble the egg. At its simplest, the dish is just rice and egg, but various condiments and flavourings can be added – we’ve opted for soy sauce, home-made dashi stock (hot green tea is a winning alternative) and sesame seeds, but togarashi, furikake and mirin are also good additions.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 12 mins (plus standing)
Serves 4
450 gm sushi rice, rinsed well
4 very fresh eggs
Soy sauce, roasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced spring onion and finely grated ginger (optional), to serve
Dashi stock
55 gm bonito flakes
5 cm piece kombu
2 dried shiitake mushrooms 1 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste 2 tsp mirin
2 tsp sake
1 tsp caster sugar
1 Place rice, 840ml water and ½ tsp salt in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes. Without uncovering, remove from heat and stand to steam for 5 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, for dashi stock, combine bonito flakes, kombu, shiitake mushrooms and 500ml cold water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl (discard solids), then return stock to pan. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil.
3 To serve, divide hot rice among bowls and make a small well in the centre with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each well, drizzle with a little soy sauce, scatter with sesame seeds and spring onion, and serve dashi stock, grated ginger and extra soy sauce separately.
Drink suggestion A cloudy, unfiltered style of namazake.