AMATEUR chef Charlotte Seddon has created a recipe to help people whip up a tasty lunch while in lockdown.
The recipe, created by Charlotte, 35, of Shotton, is great for these times as it uses bread a little past its best and is versatile enough so that ingredients can be swapped out for items you have in your fridge.
Charlotte, who viewers saw reach the semi-finals of the latest series of the BBC's MasterChef, says the recipe should take 30 to 40 minutes to prepare and serves two as a lunch.
Charlotte Seddon
Charlotte said: "This recipe is perfect for lockdown as so many of the ingredients can be replaced with whatever is in your fridge. It is also an excellent way of using up bread which is a little past its best. Sourdough is the best bread but you can use ciabatta or even a tiger loaf.
"Use any colour peppers you have left in your fridge, any type of tomatoes and even other left over veg such as spinach or French beans. The egg is optional and sometimes I haven’t got the patience to do this last step as the bread is so tasty I want to eat it as soon as possible, but the runny yolk oozing into the bread is well worth it if you have time.
"Don’t be shy with the salt or olive oil in this dish it brings out the flavours of the ingredients but keep tasting and adjusting along the way to suit your taste.
Fried Bread, Chorizo, Peppers & Onions topped with a Poached Egg
Ingredients
Ingredients:
• 75g sourdough bread (preferably a few days old), cut into chunks about 1 inch by 1 inch
• 6 cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1/2 red onion cut into wedges around 3cm wide
• 1/4 of a red pepper cut into large chunks around 1inch by 1inch
• 1/4 of a yellow pepper cut into large chunks around 1inch by 1inch
• 60g chorizo ring cut into bite sized pieces
• Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
• Salt flakes
• 2 garlic cloves left whole with the skin on but lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• Olive oil
Method:
1. Prep all the ingredients getting them chopped first so you are ready to go when you start cooking
2. Put the sourdough into a large bowl, coat in two tablespoons of olive oil and two large pinches of the salt flakes. Make sure the olive oil is evenly coating the bread pieces add a bit more if needed. The bread should soak up all the oil
3. Heat a very large frying pan on a medium to high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil and the two garlic cloves
4. Let the garlic brown a little, around 2 minutes
5. Add the bread chunks to the pan and leave the bowl on the side, you will need this later
Step 6
6. Fry the bread turning the pieces until they are brown on all sides
7. Once the bread is golden on all sides, remove the bread and garlic from the pan and put them back into the bowl from before
8. Add another dash of olive oil to the same pan and add the red onions and peppers and season with salt and pepper
9. After a couple of minutes add a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
Step 10
10. Once the onions and peppers are cooked and starting to brown add them to the bowl that has the bread in (put the kettle on for the poached eggs later)
11. Put the pan back on the heat and lower the heat to a medium heat, add the chorizo and fry for 3 minutes until stirring until the juices are releasing and the chorizo is starting to crisp
12. Fill a saucepan with the boiling water and add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and put on a high heat to bring to the boil (you can use normal vinegar, but I think it affects the taste, also I NEVER put salt in the poaching water as it can break up the whites)
Step 13
13. Add the cherry tomatoes to the chorizo and fry for a further minute and season again with salt and pepper
Step 14
14. Add the peppers, onions and bread back into the frying pan with the tomatoes and chorizo and give it a good mix. Turn the heat down very low whilst you cook your eggs
15. Once the water comes to a fast boil remove it from the heat and crack each egg into the water. I find it easier to put each egg in a shallow bowl before lowering it into the water, as you want it to enter the water gently
16. Put the pan back on the heat but turn the heat off or very low and leave for to poach for 5 minutes, keep an eye on them an move the pan a little if they look like they are sticking to the bottom
17. Whilst the eggs are poaching split the fried bread mixture in your frying pan onto each plate
18. When each egg is poached remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and drain thoroughly on kitchen paper, you want to make sure there is no water left in any folds as it can make your bread soggy.
19. Place an egg on top of each plate and season with pepper
The finished lunch
20. Enjoy!
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