Turkish eggs

I have been worrying a bit recently that the book of this blog, The Bad Cook (which is out TODAY, purchasable here)*, is going to be a disappointment.

This hadn’t crossed my mind until very recently – until recently I had always flicked through it sniggering to myself and going “This is great!!! Definitely worth £1.99.” But now I’m not so sure.

“Does it represent value to my readers?” I think as I sit with a cookbook on my lap, staring out of the window and trying not to pick at my cuticles because it drives my husband nuts.

So I have decided today to alert you to a recipe, which I would pay someone £1.99 to tell me about, which will assuage my feelings of fraudulence.

It is for a turkish eggs thing that Peter Gordon does at his restaurant brasserie cafe thing Les Providores in Marylebone High Street. It is NOT in fusion (sic), which is his cookbook, so I had to source the recipe off a New Zealand website, convert all the measurements, try it out and photograph it.

I’m sure that’s worth £1.99.

So these turkish eggs are poached eggs with yoghurt and a chilli butter. I understand if you think that yoghurt and eggs together sounds gross but I promise it isn’t. This is an incredibly delicious, almost addictive taste and it is very easy to put together for a light supper for you and someone you love. Or just for you alone.

Do not worry if you aren’t brilliant at poaching eggs – I am absolutely hopeless and mine came out just about okay.

So here we go – turkish eggs for 2

2 eggs – the fresher they are, the easier they will be to poach
200g greek yoghurt
1 tbsp olive oil
large pinch of chilli flakes
70g butter
some chopped parsley if you have it

NB – you will notice that there is no salt specified in this recipe. It is not an accident. You can, of course, add as much salt and pepper as you think this needs but personally, I think the lack of salt, the slight blandness, is a really important aspect to this – I don’t think the flavours need it. But you must do whatever you like.

1 In a bowl whisk together the yoghurt and olive oil. It is this whisking and whipping of the yoghurt that makes it so delicious, in my view. You CAN add here a small scraping of crushed garlic, but I don’t think it’s neccessary.

2 In a small pan melt the butter gently until it takes on a very pale brown colour – this takes about 10 mins over a low heat. Don’t be tempted to razz it hot otherwise it will burn. Once it looks to you like it has taken on some colour, add the chilli flakes and swirl around in the butter. Put to one side.

3 Now poach your eggs in some simmering water for 3-4 mins. If you add 100ml white vinegar to the water it should in theory help the process.

4 To assemble, divide the yoghurt between two bowls, then drop an egg on top, pour over the chilli butter and scatter with parsley.

We ate this with toasted sourdough, as they do in Les Providores, but I think this would also be terrific with any sort of flatbread or pitta.

* for Amazon refuseniks the book is also available from other sources:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/bad-cook/id580194993?mt=11

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Cook-ebook/dp/B00ALKTWYY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363857002&sr=8-1&keywords=esther+walker+bad+cook

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Esther_Walker_Bad_Cook?id=wGTySqj1u-wC&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImJvb2std0dUeVNxajF1LXdDIl0.

THANK you if you bought it. You don’t have to read it, I promise I won’t corner you and ask you what you thought next time I see you.

Bacon Wrapped Spring Chicken

I’m running off to a very important meeting, and between
getting some notes together, and finding a clean shirt, I don’t have time to
write the bacon wrapped Spring chicken post just yet. So, for now you’ll have to settle for the ingredient
amounts, and I promise I’ll fill out the rest later. Enjoy! Okay, I’m back, and ready to finish off this post. Except, I’m not sure exactly what to add, since the technique is every bit as easy as it appears in the video. The only real point of emphasis is keeping the knife relatively still where it goes into the side of the breast, as you cut a nice big pocket inside. Other than that, just be sure to tuck your bacon ends under the chicken, and you shouldn’t have too much trouble.

You should probably use a thermometer to check the doneness, but a great rule of thumb is when you see and hear juices from the stuffing and chicken start to leak into the pan. I just did a quick lemon deglaze, but time permitting, the browned bits in the pan will make a great pan sauce, like the one we did in this Airline Chicken video. Either way, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

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Ingredients for 2 portions:

For the stuffing:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sliced green onions (aka spring onions)

2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeno pepper

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese, grated Gruyere, cheddar, blue, or any other
cheese

2 tablespoons freshly chopped green herbs (tarragon, parsley, dill, a little thyme, are all great choice alone or combined)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 rounded teaspoon fine dry breadcrumbs

For the rest:

2 eight-ounce boneless skinless chicken breast, cut as show

enough salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne to generously
season chicken

4 to 6 strips of bacon, or enough to wrap chicken breasts

1 teaspoon oil to grease pan

juice from 1 lemon to deglaze pan drippings- Roast at 425 F. for about 30 minutes, or until an internal temp of at least 155 F.

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Dandelion omelette recipe and codfish "petals" – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

200 g desalted cod
180 g dandelion
8 large eggs
8 dried tomatoes in oil
Juniper berries
laurel
lemon
extra virgin olive oil
pepper
salt

Duration: 45 min

Level: Easy

Dose: 4 people

For the recipe of the dandelion omelette and cod "petals", cut the dried tomatoes into fillets. Beat the eggs with salt and pepper, adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk to taste. Clean the dandelion, set aside a few leaves to complete and sauté the rest briefly in a pan with a little oil. Transfer it to a plate and divide it into 4 portions.
Put one in the pan and add a quarter of the egg mixture, distributing both evenly. Cook a thin omelette, rolling it as soon as possible. So prepare three more.
Boil the cod in boiling water, unsalted, with 1-2 juniper berries and a bay leaf, for 10-15 minutes; drain it, divide it into "petals" and season with the filleted tomatoes, the grated rind and the juice of half a lemon, the raw dandelion kept aside, oil and pepper. Serve the omelettes with seasoned cod.