If you have not guessed by now I am obsessed by all things breakfast. It is certainly my favourite meal of the day. Though the base ingredient of eggs is ever-present to achieve morning my Protien, I delight in finding ways to start the day with simple yet sublime recipe solutions. This dish exemplifies that philosophy.
Leeks have been a feature in poverty level food for centuries. Potatoes when imported to England were literally a lifesaver for the lowest classes. But make no mistake, this recipe transforms the cinder girl into a princess of a dish at breakfast. And no painful shoving yourself into a glass slipper required here. It will be an easy fit for anyone to succeed with in the kitchen.
-Matt Miller
Serves 2
4 eggs
4-5 jersey royal or new potatoes in thinly sliced rounds
1 leek thinly sliced
1/4 cup cream
Butter
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Heat the oven to 180C/350F
In an hob/ovenproof or iron skillet set to medium high add 2 tbsp olive oil and the leeks. Stir occasionally so the do not burn until soft. About 3 mins. Remove to a bowl.
In the same pan add the potatoes plus 2 tbsp oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix potatoes around to cover evenly with oil. Allow to set for 1 min and stir. Repeat two more times so that a nice browning is achieved on the potatoes .
If you have a tagine as pictured mix the potatoes and leeks together and place in the tagine. Otherwise add the leeks back in the pan, mix together evenly and remove from heat.
Put 3-4 squares of butter ( about 1 tsp each ) on top of the mixture and add the cream.
Crack the eggs evenly over the mixture and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cover the tagine with lid or skillet pan with foil.
Bake covered for 15 minutes. The mixture should be boiling at the edges. If not add a few extra minutes.
Remove from oven and serve immediately form the pan.
Our Tudor inspiration:
Basic cooking ingredients marked perhaps the greatest difference in the social classes in Tudor England . For those on the lowest rung of the social ladder, meals comprised mostly locally available seasonal vegetables, supplemented with dried oats, bread and pulses.
Onions, leeks, pumpkins, spinach and garlic were by far the most common “worts” grown, with almost all Tudor households dependent on their own small plot of land, even those living in cities. And leeks were so popular among the poor that the kitchen garden often came to be known as the “leek garden”
