egg

Don’t be scared of poaching eggs, it really doesn’t require any fancy techniques. So, put away your chef hat, along with the vinegar and any ideas of water whirlpools. Instead, arm yourself with a small frying pan, a tea cup, a slotted spoon and a bit of bravery. Simply crack your egg into a tea cup and tip it into simmering water – don’t panic if it spreads out a bit or looks a little scruffy around the edges. As soon as it starts to set, you’ll realise how silly you were being. Besides, there are far better things to be scared of, clowns for example… Although a clown poaching an egg is quite a terrifying image.

Egg Drop Coriander Broth
Serves 1 / Hands on time 15 min / Total time 15 mins / V Df
You’ll need: Small frying pan, slotted spoon, ramekin or a tea cup, small food processor
500ml water
1 stock cube or stock pot
1 or 2 eggs
25g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
¼ tsp salt flakes
1 piece sourdough bread, toasted

In a small food processor, add the fresh coriander, olive oil, chopped garlic and salt. Blitz until you have a rough paste. Spoon directly into the centre of a deep bowl. Put to one side.
Add the hot stock to a small frying pan and bring to the boil before turning down to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, crack an egg into a small ramekin or tea cup and tip gently into the broth and repeat with the second egg (if using). Allow to cook for about a minute or until the white starts to set.
Gently slide a slotted spoon underneath each egg to prevent the eggs from sticking to the bottom of the pan before checking the yolks. If the yolks are peeking out above the stock, gently press down on top of them with a slotted spoon one at a time until fully submerged for around 10-15 seconds, or until the yolks appear white. Now is a good time to toast your bread.
Continue to poach the eggs in the stock for a further minute or two or until the eggs appear firm but the yolks still a little wobbly.
Add a couple of tablespoons of broth to your coriander paste and give it a stir with a spoon to loosen it up a bit before pouring over the rest of the broth, being careful to leave your eggs in the pan.
Submerge the toast into the broth and top with the eggs. Finish with a good crack of black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Egg Drop Coriander Broth

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian DF – Dairy Free

August. Is. Evil! Sure, the weather’s nice, and for one blissful month, I don’t have to share my commute with hundreds of school children, but just as I’m about to pour myself a well-deserved gin and tonic and plan the weekend ahead, I notice that I don’t have a single weekend free until mid-September. NOOOOOO! Weddings, Christenings, birthdays and reunions clog up my iPhone calendar like virtual turds that just won’t flush. I decide to leave the glass and take the bottle of gin to my wardrobe, where I stare blankly before deciding which outfits I can get away with wearing at least twice.

Four weeks on and I have successfully godmothered, danced and drunk my way through the wedding season. So it will come as no surprise that when I finally get a weekend to do what I want to do, I come down with a disgusting cold.
“At least you’re not an American prisoner of war in Vietnam” Jamie says, rather unsympathetically. Yes, well, I guess there’s always that I think, as I reach for the already empty box of tissues.

And what has any of this got to do with egg-fried rice? Admittedly, not much, apart from the fact that egg-fried rice was the only thing I managed to pull together before I collapsed into my bed for a few days. Top with a fried egg and serve drizzled with soy sauce.

Spring green egg fried rice

Serves 2 / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 20 mins / V Df

You’ll need: One small and one large frying pan

3 tsp sesame oil

3 spring onions, sliced into strips (keeping a little back for garnish)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 inch knob of ginger, grated

4 eggs (2 beaten)

80g spring greens, chopped cabbage or kale (roughly two handfuls)

30g frozen peas

250g cooked brown basmati rice

1½ tbs light soy sauce

Method
1. Prepare a large frying and a small frying pan by adding 1 tsp of sesame oil to each. Put the large frying pan on a medium to high heat and allow the oil to warm. Meanwhile chop the spring onions, garlic and grate the ginger. Add these to the pan and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add the beaten egg and allow to cook for 30 seconds before using a spoon to break up the egg. Add the chopped greens and the frozen peas along with a dash of water to help them steam. Allow to cook for another couple of minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put the smaller frying pan on a medium to high heat and crack in both eggs. Fry until the white is set but the yolk is still soft.
4. Whilst the eggs are cooking, add the cooked rice, soy sauce and a tsp of sesame oil to the greens and cook for a further 3 minutes. Finally, divide into bowls and serve topped with a fried egg and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Df– Dairy free