The Full English Breakfast (or the big fry up!)

Over at The Goosberry Fool Caitlin is running an ingenious food blog event – The Global Breakfast Tournament. She wants to know who around the world makes the best breakfast and in order to find out has asked champions from different countries to enter a classic dish from their country. I’m very excited and honoured to be representing England in the tournament and I wanted to share my entry with you, which you can also read on Caitlin’s blog here. I hope you enjoy it!

Global Breakfast Tournament - England

I was delighted when Caitlin asked me if I would represent England in her Global Breakfast Tournament and immediately I knew the dish I would have to enter would be the Full English Breakfast, or 'the fry up' as it's also known. We're very lucky in Britain to enjoy a wide range of breakfasts from around the world, whether a croissant and latte grabbed on the way to the office, a bowl of muesli or even kedgeree. Toast and a cup of tea features heavily in British homes at breakfast time, as does cereal, but ask most Brits what the ultimate breakfast is here in the UK and the answer will be a resounding 'the fry up!'. Now I know what you're thinking: "Greasy, artery-blocking, heavy fried breakfasts served in greasy spoon cafes, well they may be classically British but what's so great about them?". Well, read on!



The great British fry up has regional variances across the UK; in Ireland you may find white pudding or soda bread, in Scotland haggis or potato scones are often included and in Wales lava bread may feature. But regardless of where you are in the UK, at the heart of this fantastic breakfast you'll pretty much always find bacon, eggs and sausages. Being from England, I've cooked the Full English Breakfast for my entry. After the bacon, eggs and sausages, generally any combination of mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes, hash browns, baked beans, fried bread and black pudding are added, sometimes with toast on the side for the very hungry. Eggs are sometimes scrambled, but more commonly fried and served runny, and you can't beat the delight of that first burst of the egg as you dip a piece of sausage or toast into that gloriously yellow yolk. In my research for this entry I've found that black pudding is something of a contentious issue. Many people insist that a full English breakfast must include it but quite a few people really dislike it and many don't even get as far as trying it, being repulsed by the idea of a sausage made from blood. I have to say I don't usually include it in my breakfast, but as I continued my research and spoke to various people it soon became very apparent that I would be committing blasphemy of the gravest kind if I didn't include it for this post. So I made an exception and there it is, right next to the bacon, tomatoes and beans!

As always, the best ingredients will give the best dish. If you use poor quality ingredients you'll get a poor quality breakfast, simple. So choose large free-range eggs, preferably organic, fresh ripe tomatoes, flavoursome mushrooms, thickly cut bacon and good quality black sausage from your butcher. And now for a few rules, meant light-heartedly but taken seriously by many: baked beans must be Heinz baked beans; sausages must be British, fat and juicy; and whether you prefer brown sauce or tomato sauce the choice can only be between Heinz ketchup and HP sauce.



Let's talk about fat content for a minute. Now I do concede that the Full English isn't the healthiest of breakfasts, not by a long shot, and if you eat it every day you're going to pile on the pounds and give your arteries a challenge. But it really isn't eaten every day by your average Brit. It's something to be enjoyed in moderation, a real treat, generally eaten on an occasional weekend when there is more time to potter in the kitchen and really enjoy this hearty breakfast, or when staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast somewhere across the country. Those very concerned about the fat content could grill instead of fry, and many people do, but if you're looking for true authenticity only the frying pan will do. You don't need much fat for frying at all - some will come out of the bacon and sausages, and olive oil is a good choice, being healthier than most fats. After frying place the bacon and sausages on kitchen paper to soak up the excess fat before serving it.

So just what is it about this part of the British institution that makes it so special and dear to the hearts of so many Brits? Well let me see, could it be the gentle sound of the sizzling in the pan, the smell of the bacon and sausages making your tummy ache, or the oozing yellow egg yolk? Maybe it's the taste of the mushrooms or the sweet, warm tomatoes that burst in your mouth, or the taste combinations, different with each mouthful. Could it be the way this hearty breakfast fills your tummy, warms you up and puts a contented smile on your face as you read the Sunday papers? Or perhaps it's the fact that this breakfast reminds us so much of home and makes us proud to be British; after all, whilst there are many fantastic breakfasts all around the world, no one can do a fried breakfast like the British. Whatever it is, I really don't think that there's a better way to start the day.

First Taste of the New Season

What an absolute delight; my first purple sprouting broccoli of the year. I picked it up from my local farm shop today and combined it with softly scrambled duck eggs and chives on toast for a late afternoon snack, washed down with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc. An embodiment of Spring in one meal.

The mildly onion flavour of the chives balances out the rich duck eggs and the deliciously fresh tasting purple sprouting broccoli gives contrasting texture, having been blanched in boiling water for just a few minutes. A very light sprinkling of sea salt brings out the broccoli's flavour. This dish is perfect evidence that good quality, seasonal ingredients need only be cooked in the simplest of ways for stunning results.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Scrambled Duck Eggs and Chives

Ingredients
2 duck eggs
2 stems of purple sprouting broccoli
1 slice of bread
A few chives
Sea salt
White pepper
A knob of butter

1. Lightly combine the duck eggs with a fork and add in a pinch each of white pepper and sea salt. Start toasting the bread and put some water on to boil for the broccoli.
2. Gently heat a knob of butter until it melts then add in the eggs. Cook over a low heat, stirring until the eggs scramble. Keep them fairly liquid and take them off the heat just before done, as they will carry on cooking for a while.
3. Snip some chives and lightly sir them into the eggs.
4. Boil the broccoli for a couple of minutes then remove from the water immediately.
5. Butter the toast and pour over the eggs. Top with the broccoli and sprinkle over a little more sea salt.

Serves 1, any time.

Perk Me Up!

It’s quite unusual for me to crave chilli; I don’t like too much of it and it’s not something that I cook with very often. But today I wanted something with a bit of a kick, to really excite my taste buds, and so a Thai-inspired beef salad was perfect. Everything about this dish woke me up; the vibrant colours, the crunch of the textures, the heat of the chilli and the zing of the lime. I went easy on the chilli here but you could use as much as you want to suit your own taste.

Chilli Beef Salad

2 sirloin steaks
1 red pepper, pulp and seeds removed and sliced length-ways.
A combination of watercress, spinach and rocket leaves
A couple of handfuls of bean sprouts
A little vegetable oil for frying

For the marinade
1 crushed garlic clove
2 tablespoons soy sauce

For the dressing
Juice of ½ a lime
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tsp of brown sugar

1. Marinade the beef in the soy sauce and garlic for at least half an hour.
2. Prepare the salad; lay the watercress, spinach and rocket leaves on plates, followed by the bean sprouts and then the red pepper.
3. Fry the steaks in vegetable oil, ideally cook them rare, leave them to rest and then slice them and lay them over the salad.
4. Mix up all the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over the salad. Serve with a wedge of lime.

Serves 2.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of February!

It’s time to share this month’s ‘In the Bag’ selection with you. We have a colourful line-up for you this month which I’m sure you’re going to have lots of fun with. The 3 ingredients are:

Forced rhubarb
An orange
Sugar

All you need to do to enter is to create a dish using these ingredients, then post about it on your blog or website and drop me an email.

Entry Details
Send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk by Friday 29th February with the following information:

• your name
• the name of your blog or website
• a link to your post
• the name of your dish
• a picture of your dish

Rules
Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients 'in the bag' for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, with it acting as a central ingredient.

2. Participants can include any "extra" ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "In the Bag".

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the closing date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

'In The Bag' is a food event run monthly by 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' and 'Real Epicurean'.

Nice Matters

I've had a funny sort of a week, very much a roller coaster ride with big ups and big downs. There have been surprises, disappointments, moments of doubt and glimmers of hope. My cart was travelling down another dip today when I discovered that the lovely Antonia from Food Glorious Food had chosen me for the Nice Matters award, due to my work on the UK Food Bloggers Association and 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' discussion forums. Sometimes a lovely gesture comes just at the right time, when you need it the most, and this is one of those times. Thank you so much Antonia, I’m truly touched.

I hope I can make someone else’s day now by nominating a few bloggers myself. I’m not sure how many I’m allowed to choose but I’d nominate you all if I could – isn’t the food blogging community fantastic? But as I can’t choose everyone I’d like to use this opportunity to thank some key members of the forums for their input, which makes the forums such a great place to hang out and helps them to attract new visitors and grow. So Pixie, A Forkful of Spaghetti, Nilmandra, Andy, Holler, Wendy and Kai I nominate you all. And thank you also to every other member of the forums and also the members of the UK Bloggers Association - it's you that makes them so very worthwhile.

Some Things get Better with Age

Like a good Bordeaux, a pair of worn-in shoes and women (of course!), lamb is even better when it matures, as I learned this evening when I cooked it for the first time. I’ve wanted to try it for some time and was urged to do so by the readers who commented on this thread but until today I’d not seen it available. It was in the John Lewis Food Hall yesterday that I saw a sole packet of organic mutton, which I snapped up.

Mutton comes from a sheep at least two years old and it needs good hanging and long, slow cooking. But the flavour is nothing short of spectacular –deep, rich and almost gamey. Mutton is increasing in popularity through the good press it’s receiving, from celebrity chefs and the like but, as I’ve found, it can be difficult to get hold of, so if you do see it I urge you to try it.

There’s nothing fancy about the dish I put together this evening, it’s just a simple, homely casserole and in it’s simplicity it’s perfect – after all why dress mutton as lamb rather than appreciate it for what it is, that is, a damn fine meat?



Mutton, Red Wine and Potato Stew

Ingredients
500g mutton, roughly chopped
1 ltr beef stock
1 large glass of red wine
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped stick of celery
2 crushed garlic cloves
3 or 4 carrots, roughly chopped
3 or 4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon of plain flour
A sprinkling of dried thyme (about a teaspoon) or a couple of fresh thyme sprigs

1. In a casserole dish brown the mutton in olive oil over a high heat until well browned. Remove from the pan.

2. Saute the onion, celery and garlic in the same pan until starting to soften and colour a little.

3. Put the mutton back in the pan and sprinkle over the flour. Mix well, then add the red wine, beef stock, thyme, carrots and potatoes. Season well.

4. Bring to the boil then reduce to barely a simmer. Put on a lid and cook slowly for 2 hours.

5. Check the seasoning and if using fresh thyme remove the sprigs before serving.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of January - The Round-up!

Wow, what a great start to the New Year for our monthly food event. Last month we challanged you to come up with a dish using pears, nuts and a lemon and here is the round-up of all the fantastic entries.

The lovely Pixie at 'You Say Tomato.....I Say Tomato' entered this mouth-watering Pear and Chocolate Crumble.



'A forkful of spaghetti' entered these delicious Pear and hazelnut brioche toasts.



Lovely Miss Bliss of Frolicking Foodie made us this Pear Kulfi.



How about this sweet offering from Mike's Table? Caramelized Pear Ice Cream with Toasted Pecans.



San, The Artful Cook, gave us these San's Spiced Pear and Walnut Galettes along with a spectacular illustration.



This enticing Pear and Almond Tart was baked up by Laurie of 'Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska'.



The Modern Apron went savory with Pecan Crusted Roast Pork Loin with Quince Glazed Pears.



Take a look at this very artful dish from Greg over at Greg Cooks Tart aux Poires en Cage.



The fabulous Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes made this heavenly Pear & Ginger Crumble.



These delicious Honey Pear Cupcakes with White Chocolate Pistachio Buttercream were dreamt up by Minko of Couture Cupcakes.



Chris at Mele Cotte entered this original Nutty Pear Compote.



How fantastic are these Beehive Baked Pears? They were entered by Gabi over at 'The Feast Within'.



Voodoolily from Gild the Voodoolily invented this very tempting Ya Pear Gallette with Pinenuts and Lemon-Pepper Honey Glaze.



These lovely Macerated Pears over French Toast were entered by Trisha at 'Cooking Like I Mean It'.



These Pear & Lemon Muffins from Caitlin at 'The Goosberry Fool' would be great any time of the day.



Kim at 'Eating In' gave us a lovely Pear, Cardamom Glazed Walnuts, and Gorgonzola Salad.



These sweet Stewed pears, candied lemon and almond tiles were served up by Myriam at 'My Kitchen Diaries'.



Babeth over at La vie in English baked us these delicious Japanese Pear and Pine Nut Scones.



These fabulous Stuffed Pears were served up by Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe.



How about this fabulously exotic Lamb and Pear Tagine with Pinenut and Preserved Lemon Couscous from Around Britain with a Paunch?



And finally my own dish was a Pear, Smoked Cheddar and Walnut Salad.



I don't know about you, but I'm drooling after that round-up! A very big thank you and well done to all our participants.

"In The Bag" is a monthly food event run by Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott at Real Epicurean