BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

The Best Ever...

This is always a winning brunch with my family and friends, a slightly deconstructed bubble and squeak, gorgeous crunchy fluffy fresh or left over roast potatoes cooked in schmaltz’s (chicken drippings) served with garlic buttered pan seared kale, spinach and asparagus then topped with a soft poached egg, finished off with a sumptuous dijon mustard and gooseberry vinegar sauce.

Prep 5 minutes / cooking 20 minutes

(Serves 2)

Ingredients 

4 Albert rooster roasting potatoes or left over roast potatoes

2 tbsp schmaltz or goose fat

4 eggs cracked into individual bowls

1 bunch kale striped and sliced

2 large handfuls fresh spinach

10 spears asparagus 

2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped

25g butter + 1 reserved tbsp

1 dash olive oil

Himalayan sea salt and fresh black pepper 

Mustard Sauce

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp vinegar, apple, white wine or gooseberry

1 pinch white pepper

If using left over roast potatoes place in the oven to heat up with some left over chicken fat for 20 minutes at 180 C / 356 F.  If making fresh roasts then peel and cut your potatoes in to four, bring a pan of water to a rolling boil and part boil the potatoes until just fork tender, (10 minutes), drain, season with salt and leave to steam dry for 5 minutes.  Pre heat your oven to 200 C / 392 F.  Place your roasting tray in the oven with the chicken or goose fat for 3 minutes, then add the potatoes, toss to coat in the hot fat.  Roast in the oven for 30 minutes turning once half way through until golden and crispy all over.  

Ten minutes before the potatoes are ready:

 Bring a large deep pan of water to a gentle simmer ready for the poached eggs then at the same time heat a pan medium hot for cooking the kale, spinach and asparagus, add the olive oil and butter, add the garlic and asparagus, sauté for two minutes then add the kale and spinach, cook on the heat for one more minute, remove from the heat toss in the reserved butter.

Next make the mustard sauce by placing all the ingredients in a bowl and combine.

To poach the eggs add the vinegar to the simmering water and gently whisk to create a mild vortex in the centre and then pour in the eggs one at a time from the bowls, the eggs will swirl around gently with the vortex allowing the egg white to surround the yolk to create a perfect poached egg.  Cook gently for around 3-5 minutes depending on how runny you like your yolk,  

You can check the egg by removing with a slotted spoon and gently prodding to see how wobbly the egg is, the firmer the bounce back the more cooked the egg is.  Remember the poached egg will continue to cook for a minute once it is taken from the water and served.  

Get Ahead Eggs

You can poach your eggs ahead of time, once cooked, plunge the poached eggs in to a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process, when your ready to serve gently place the eggs back into a pan of just simmering water for one minute to warm back through.

To serve place the kale, spinach and asparagus in the bottom of a dish, drizzle a teaspoon of mustard sauce over the greens, pile high with the crispy roasted potatoes, top with the poached eggs and finish with a further drizzle of the creamy mustard sauce and parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, enjoy.