Weekend breakfast

It's not even 9am and I'm whatsapping my mate Siân with a picture of my breakfast. Yes, ashamedly it's a plain Krispy Kreme doughnut with a cuppa. Freshly bought yesterday, we have 24, they need eating up! 

I ask what she's having (as you know, this is an everyday occurrence for us). Very unusual that Siân replies straight away with a pic of her breakfast, I'm blown over with excitement. As I'm analysing the breakfast items, like I am checking them off on a list...mushroom -yes, bacon - yes, beans - yes, egg - yes and toast. I do love a food picture, but I especially love a cooked breakfast in a photo. Our name is to do with a subconscious obsession with the Full English. 

It's the following weekend, Father's Day. As usual I'm finding out what she's having for breakfast. A pic appears on my whatsapp of scrambled egg (nice touch), a large flat field mushroom, sausage and hashbrown. She rustled it up from bits she had in her freezer (she's good like that). Well today we've literally gone for the full monty, as for once I've pre-prepared this event. A cooked breakfast is a weekend treat, a cooked breakfast on Father's Day is even more special. 

Oven goes on to around 180c. Any frozen goods, waffles for kids, hash browns. Recently I've discovered these hash brown waffles, half way house between a potato waffle and hash brown, genius. 

I start off lightly browning off my big fat sausages from the butcher. They're lovely, meaty and well seasoned, hardly any fat comes out. They're call "directors", I'd usually go for a Cumberland or Lincolnshire until recently, I've found these to be better. As I'm chatting to him yesterday I ask what ingredients he uses in this variety. He wouldn't tell me the exact recipe but informs me they use a little honey. Hence the lovely colour they go and the subtle sweetness brings our the other flavours. After 15 mins or so I transfer to the oven for a final colouring. 

Next I cut the rind off the bacon, smoked from the butcher also, I tend to buy a stack at a time, keeps well in the fridge and doesn't shrivel when grilled. I delicately line up my rashers on the grill ready to go. 

I wash the same pan I cooked sausages in, a knob of butter goes in until it bubbles, 2 tomatoes that I've cut in half go in cut side down, and a handful of baby button mushrooms . A little shake of the pan, a flip of the tomatoes, they'll be nicely caramelised where their natural sugars have come out. These now go into a dish ready for the black pudding to join them in the oven for a few minutes. Lightly brown the pudding now in the pan, literally a minute or two just to colour. 

A small pan of beans are gently bubbling away on the stove awaiting a ladle. 

Lastly the eggs, a small amount of groundnut oil in a large non stick pan. Get pan hot, in they go. I like them to bubble to whites go frilly. We all like them over-easy. The yolk flipped over. A few minutes for me, so yolk is wobbly, when you cut through with a knife a trail stream out onto the other items marrying everything together. 

So that's it, the wonderful thing that is the full English, sets you up for the day. Every mouthful an excitment to taste buds. I like to have balance in my fry up. The sausages and bacon not necessarily to be the star of the show. I equally like the carb element, whether it be hashbrowns, sautées. And the mushrooms, have to have the mushrooms! A good breakfast has all the items in my opinion, cook them well and you cannot go wrong. 

Anne

My Lancashire hot pot

The slow cooker is my friend. I couldn't have been without it over these past winter months. But as the cold weather draws to a close and signs of life begin to emerge outside, with that brings the prospect of picnic food, barbecues, marinades, salads in any form, mezze food, berries, afternoon tea, garden parties, lemonade and Roses lime cordial. 

Although I'd literally do anything in the slow cooker these days. One recipe I keep coming back to is my own version of a classic hot pot. Topped with well seasoned buttery thinly sliced potatoes, it's pure comfort food in a bowl. I like to eat on the sofa with feet curled round, while open fire is ablaze. Oh and a lovely glass of red on the side. 

About 500g of chunky diced lamb (any cut you like - neck fillet, rump, leg, shoulder). To be honest I sometimes use a mixture or whatever's on offer. Neck fillet is cheap but can be very fatty, it's a good idea to trim off as much fat as possible

1 tbsp of plain flour

1-2 sliced onion

1-2 stick of celery roughly chopped, half inch pieces are nice so they don't disintegrate into the dish

2 carrots, chopped the same as celery

A few sprigs of rosemary (or dried if you only have)

1 tbsp of tomato purée 

A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce

A few shakes of Maggis sauce

About half a pint of water/stock

About 5 potatoes thinly sliced in rounds.

So brown the lamb in a little oil in a large frying pan, season well and add flour. Next the onions, carrots and celery. Then cook down for about 10 mins or so moving around the pan. Add the tomato purée. 

Tip all of this into the slow cooker. Then add your Worcestershire and Maggis, a few shakes of each. Plenty of s&p and water or stock. Stir to combine. Now just plonk lid on and leave on low/med/high depending on how long you want to leave it for. As a gauge, I cook on low if I'm preparing in the morning (or just after the school run), medium or high if I'm starting it off in the afternoon.  

Right so when the stew is done, you'll know it is when it's smelling amazing and meat is almost breaking with a spoon. Bearing in mind, it doesn't matter if the meat is not completely tender, you'll be giving it more cooking time when potatoes go on top. 

So transfer lamb stew into a lidded Le Creuset pot. I've used my round or oval one, both works well. 

You can even do this the day before and keep in the fridge. The flavours will become more intense and amalgamate. Actually things always taste better the next day I find. 

Slice thinly a few potatoes. Start layering the spuds, starting from the outside in. Put a random knob of butter in the top of each layer, with plenty of salt and pepper. I like to do about 3 layers in total, with a final "buttering" and seasoning. Put the lid on place in the oven for about an hour. 180degrees (fan) or thereabouts. For the last 30 minutes take the lid off so potatoes brown nicely on the edges.

Serve with a green vegetable, green beans or such like. 

  

This is amazing. I love the differing textures of the potatoes, some crispy on the edges/slightly chewy and others soft and breaking apart and buttery, absorbing all of the wonderful juices. 

You will not be disappointed with this.

Anne