Sunday, November 7, 2010

Easy start to Sunday

There's nothing quite like an easy start to Sunday, whether it's to recover from the previous evening's frivolities or to prepare for the family to descend for lunch.  Breakfast is traditionally the most important meal of the day, but the luxury of a lazy breakfast at the weekends, means it often turns into brunch.  

So, if you can't decide whether it's a late breakfast or an early lunch your taste buds are craving opt for something that will cover both.  

Eggs, a staple breakfast component for centuries, have had their fair share of bad publicity, but I've yet to truly believe that they can be anything but goodness.  They bring life to food, get you started for the day, and feed both the brain and the soul.  As long as you have half a dozen eggs in your store cupboard and a decent frying pan you'll always have brunch, and any added extras are just a bonus.

Scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and bagels

Serves 2-3

6 large free range eggs
25g ice cold butter, cut into small dice
1 tblsp crème fraîche
freshly ground sea salt and pepper
Few chives, snipped
2-3 bagels of your choice, toasted
400g smoked salmon slices

Break the eggs into a cold, heavy-based pan, place on the lowest heat possible, and add half the butter. Using a spatula, stir the eggs frequently to combine the yolks with the whites.

As the mixture begins to set, add the remaining butter. The eggs will take about 4-5 minutes to scramble – they should still be soft and quite lumpy. Don’t let them get too hot – keep moving the pan off and back on the heat.

Meanwhile, toast the bagels.

Add the crème fraîche and season the eggs at the last minute, then add the snipped chives. Put the split bagels on warm plates, pile the softly scrambled eggs on top, fold over the smoked salmon and serve immediately.