WRITTEN ON October 15th, 2009 BY Meredith AND STORED IN Breakfast, Eggs, Uncategorized, Vegetarian
I got back late last night from a week in the UK. Before leaving, I was lamenting the end of summer and not quite ready to embrace all of fall’s bounty. No more, my friends. After a long weekend in the English countryside, hiking through hilly towns and pastures of grazing cows and sheep, in the crisp, golden air, I’m completely revived and ready for the onslaught of apples, pears and pumpkins. One of the things that stuck me about the food in the Cotswolds (well, besides the superior beer and Indian restaurants): everything was local. Fresh from the farm, delivered that day. It’s still England. I definitely came across an underseasoned roast or two. But on the whole, the food was incredibly fresh. Really homey. Your classic meat and potatoes and damn proud of it. Don’t even get me started on the dairy. It was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. I’d have coffee and tea just so I could get my hands on more cream. Buttered bread at every meal. It’s no wonder I woke up at 6 this morning jonesing for a jog in the park. Here’s my take on the classic English breakfast. Normally, they’d serve it with a roasted tomato and lots of pork (bacon, ham, black pudding). Since I’ve just gotten back from a really indulgent vacation, I decided to go with some greens and ditch the swine. What’s the same? The shrooms, the runny egg, and the baked-that-morning bread. It’s a warm way to start a cold, rainy day back in my favorite city in the world. Because hey, sometimes the best part about taking a vacation is coming home. Cheers…
English Breakfast Revisited
Fried Egg with Mushrooms and Spinach (serves 2)
2 farm egss
10 small cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 handfuls fresh spinach
1 spring fresh thyme, picked
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices whole wheat Pullman loaf
In a non-stick sauté pan, heat olive oil. Add mushrooms, sauté until golden (a trick to getting a nice color on mushrooms is to hold off salting them until you’ve achieved the brown you want). Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Remove to plate. Saute spinach in same pan, season with salt and pepper, until just wilted. Remove to same plate as mushrooms. Pop sliced bread into toaster, toast. While it’s toasting, fry both eggs in the non-stick pan, seasoning with salt and pepper, until the whites are cooked but the yolks still runny. Arrange toast on plates, top with spinach and then mushrooms. Slide an egg on top of each. Serve immediately.
Run baby run
