Tag Archives: Bacon

Sausage hash with fried egg

13 Oct

DSCI0342There are times when I have lots of bits and pieces of food left in the fridge that need to use up and I made this recipe for just such an occasion.  It is almost like a breakfast in one pan as it contains all the thinks I like for a good old English Breakfast but it is all cooked together. We had it for lunch one day but I am sure it would make a great brunch or breakfast dish.

Did you know there is actually an English Breakfast Society?  This is what they have to say about the history of the English Breakfast.

 

The full English breakfast is a centuries old British tradition which dates back to the early 1800’s, when the Victorians first perfected the art of eating breakfast and elevated the most important meal of the day into an art form.

When the Victorians combined tradition with the most important meal of the day, they created a national dish, one that is widely loved to this day and regularly enjoyed by millions of English breakfast lovers all over the planet.

The breakfast table was an opportunity to display the wealth of the estate and the quality of the meats, vegetables and ingredients produced on the surrounding land and a chance to show off the skills of the cooks who prepared a vast selection of typical English breakfast dishes every morning, for the residents and guests of the house.

The gentry used to love their breakfast feasts and in the old Anglo-Saxon tradition of hospitality, used to provide hearty full breakfasts for their visiting friends, relatives and neighbors. The gentry used to enjoy a full breakfast before they went out to hunt, before a long journey, the morning after their parties and when reading the mail and periodicals of the day.

Breakfast served in these country houses was made up of ingredients sourced from farmers based on the estate, the meats were cured and cooked using regional recipes and methods. Their breakfasts were made up of traditional English dishes, cooked in a typical English way and it was here that the idea of the traditional English breakfast began.

This recipe may not fit in with their ideals but it is definitely delicious.

Sausage hash with fried egg               Serves 2

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 8 new potatoes cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 good quality sausages of your choice
  • 3 rashes of unsmoked streaky bacon
  • 1/2 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • 1/2 red pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • small handful of parsley, chopped
  • salt and black pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and gently fry the potato for 10 minutes until it is starting to soften and go golden.
  2. Skin the sausages and break up the meat into small nuggets. Add to the potato.
  3. Using scissors, snip the bacon into thin slices and add to the pan along with the onion, chilli and pepper.
  4. Stir to combine them all and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender and the sausage cooked through.
  5. Add the parsley and season to taste. Mix carefully.
  6. In a separate pan fry two eggs.
  7. Serve the hash immediately, divided between two plates with an egg on top of each.

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Bacon and asparagus hash – a dream come true!

27 Aug

Dreams are strange things.  Martin Luther King dreamt about changing the world.  I dream about new recipes.  How sad is that!  This recipe was literally dreamt up.  When I told my husband about it he said how good it sounded so I decided to give it a go.  It was absolutely delicious and we will definitely be having it again.

I love hash of any description.  I have published a corned beef hash and a mushroom hash previously on my blog.  I suppose this one is not significantly different in methodology but the combination of flavours is exquisite.  A few days earlier I had made a spaghetti dish with bacon and asparagus.  Maybe that is what triggered the dream.  Whatever it was, it was I will be eternally grateful.

According to Wikipedia, dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions and sensations  that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. There have been umpteen studies and theories about dreams but , it is fair to say, that the content and purpose of dreams is still not definitively understood. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.

Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other  sleep stages. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. Dreams can last for a few seconds, or as long as twenty minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase.

Apart from humans, animals have dreams.  I remember when I was young, my dog, Lassie, used to sometimes twitch and make funny little noises in her sleep.  Mum used to say she was catching rabbits.

Anyway, enough of dreams.  Here is the recipe I dreamt about.

Bacon and asparagus hash                       Serves 2 (easily doubled)

  • 6 slices of streaky bacon or pancetta, rind removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 onion, sliced thinnly
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, sliced and seeds removed
  • 10 asparagus tips
  • 4-5 New Potatoes (Charlotte are good) peeled and sliced (about 1/4 inch)
  • 100g mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 5 minutes or until just tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
  2. Boil the asparagus in the water left in the pan for 3 minutes.  Remove and put in iced water immediately to stop the cooking process.
  3. Fry the bacon in a non-stick pan until brown. Remove and set aside.
  4. Add 1 tsp olive oil to the frying pan and fry the onions over a medium heat until softened.  Add the chilli and garlic towards the end.
  5. Add the mushrooms  and bacon to the onions and continue to cook for about 3 minutes until the mushrooms are softened.  Add the potato and carefully combine.  Cook for about 5 minutes, turning frequently.  If it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan add a little more oil.
  6. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil.  Add a pinch of salt and a little white wine vinegar.  Poach the eggs for 3 minutes. 
  7. Add the asparagus to the hash and carefully combine.
  8. Divide the hash between two plates and top with the poached egg.

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