Baked Egg Custard Tart

500g pack shortcrust pastry

1 whole nutmeg for grating

4 large eggs

140g golden caster sugar

300ml double cream

300ml whole milk

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

1. Heat oven to 180C. 2. Roll the pastry out to about 1cm thick, then grate over a dusting of nutmeg using a fine

grater. Fold the dough in half, then roll out again, and large enough to line a 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tin with some overhang. Press the pastry into the tin (leaving the excess draped over the sides), put onto a baking sheet and chill for 10 mins. Line the pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 mins, then remove beans and paper. Bake for another 15 mins until golden. Trim the edges of the tart with a sharp serrated knife.

3. Turn oven down to 130C fan. 4. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Put the cream, milk, vanilla pod and

seeds into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour onto the eggs, whisking as you go. Sieve into a jug.

5. Pour in the custard into the pastry, right to the top. You may not need every last drop. Grate over a nice layer of nutmeg, then slide gently back into the oven and bake for 1 hour.

6. When it’s ready, the tart should be set and pale golden on the top, and have just the merest tremor in the centre when you jiggle the tray. Cool completely, then serve in slices.

Boiled Eggs

How long one boils an egg is really up to the individual. A very, very soft-boiled egg (rare) will take

only 3 minutes. A medium-rare (very soft) will take 4 minutes. And what I think most people prefer,

a medium egg, with that just-soft yolk, will take 5 minutes. But what is the secret?

First, it’s to have your eggs at room temperature. A cold egg cooked straight from the fridge will

have such a change in pressure that it will crack. This then releases some albumen (the egg white),

which creates uneven cooking. Water that is boiling will also create turbulence, jiggling the eggs

around so that they could quite easily crack into one another.

- For soft boiled eggs

The easiest way is to bring your saucepan of water to a gentle simmer. Using a tablespoon, carefully

lower the egg or eggs into the water. Once the water has returned to the same simmering point,

cook for 3-5 minutes – rare to medium.

Or you can sit the eggs in a saucepan of cold water, bring to a fast simmer and then lift the pan from

the heat. Place a lid on the pot and leave the eggs standing in the hot water for 4-5 minutes (a

minute longer for very large eggs). The egg is now ready to enjoy (with lots of toast fingers)

Alternatively you can carefully sit the egg in simmering water and cook for 1 minute. Remove from

the stove and complete as for the cold water method. Leave standing in the pot with a lid on top.

- Hard-boiled eggs

In many recipes you’re told to boil the eggs for 10-12 minutes. Surely that can leave nothing but a

very dry, crumbly egg yolk with that “delicious looking” black border between the yolk and the

white. The best way is to sit the eggs in a saucepan of boiling water and bring to a fast simmer. Cook

for 7-8 minutes and then remove the eggs running them under cold water for 1-2 minutes to calm

the cooking. Now leave to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, peel and cut to reveal an egg

that is totally cooked but with a slightly soft and moist centre.

Classic Scrambled Eggs

After beating yolks and whites together, there’s the option of adding liquid to the eggs,

which will break down the coagulating mass, giving you a softer and moister finish. Milk,

water or cream can be used. The thought of water doesn’t excite me at all, and cream will

give you a very rich result, so milk is probably the best bet to suit everybody’s taste buds.

The only probable is quantities. Too much liquid results in it bleeding from the eggs during

and after cooking, leaving puddles of eggy ‘cream’. The best quantity for each egg is 1

tablespoon, maximum of liquid. But for me the perfect scrambled egg is made with no

additional ingredients (apart from salt and pepper).

2 large eggs, per person

Butter

Salt and pepper

Put a good knob of butter in your saucepan and let it bubble away, making sure it doesn’t

reach a nut-brown stage. Put the eggs in a bowl, season and beat well, and then add them

to the butter. Now just turn them with a wooden spoon, fairly vigorously, capturing every

corner of the pan. Once they are just starting to set and have a ‘lumpy’ effect but are still

good and soft, remove the pan from the stove. The eggs are best left slightly under- done, as

they always continue to cook, even once off the heat. The scrambled eggs are now ready to

eat.

Cloud Eggs

1 egg

Grating of parmesan cheese

Sprinkle of dried/fresh chives

Slice of good quality ham

1. Separate the whites from the yolks

2. Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and stir in your grating of parmesan cheese (and chives and ham, if you desire)

3. Scoop out a dollop of the fluffy eggs onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.

4. Make a little well for the yolk, but don't put it in yet – first, bake the clouds for two minutes, then take them out and add the yolk

5. Bake for another three minutes. (But watch them carefully, no one wants a crispy cloud egg!)

The perfect fried egg

1 fresh egg, at room temperature

1 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

Crack the egg on to a saucer to make it easier to slide into the pan. Heat the butter in a heavy-based

frying pan over a low heat, and find a slightly domed saucepan lid, ideally slightly smaller than the

pan itself, so you can place it over the cooking eggs.

Once the butter has melted, but not begun to foam, swirl it around the pan to coat, then slide in the

egg. If you're cooking more than one, be careful not to crowd the pan.

Cover and leave for 3½ minutes, then check the white is cooked, lift out, season gently, and serve

immediately

Then let’s talk up half a dozen funky breakfast ideas.

Poached eggs

4 eggs

Water

Malt or white wine vinegar

Fill a saucepan with two thirds of water and a third of vinegar. Salt should not be added because this

tends to break down the egg consistency. Bring the water and vinegar mixture to the boil and stir.

Now crack one egg at a time into the centre of the liquid and poach for 3-3.5 minutes. The eggs are

ready to serve, or they can be poached in advance and plunged into iced water immediately.

Trim off any excess untidy whites to give you the perfect poached egg. To re-heat, simply plunge into

boiling water for 1 minute.

The eggs are now hot and ready to serve.