Avocado, Bacon and Tomato Scramble

Like many people, I have a bit of a Sunday ritual. Wake up, immediately curse myself for drinking too much wine the night before (and for passing out on the sofa in front of Match of the Day), and then spend a good hour or so working myself to have the ‘energy’ (by which I mean ‘compulsion’) to go for a run. I’m training for my first half marathon at the moment, and I see every creaky Sunday morning five miler as yet another milestone on my way to becoming Bootle’s answer to Paula Radcliffe.

However, as anyone who has ever visited Bootle knows, it’s not the most scenic of places. I run down a stretch of tarmac known as the Dock Road, a rather grim looking dual carriageway lined with petrol stations, crumbling warehouses and perilous potholes. It also stinks. On good days, the air will be redolent with the smell of rotting grain (which smells curiously like dog food) with underlying notes of tyre fires. On bad days, it’s just tyre fires. When faced with such unfragrant conditions, a girl needs the thought of a good breakfast at the end of her exertions to keep her going.

This Avocado, Bacon and Tomato Scramble is the kind of  meal I would happily run marathons for. Made out a bunch of ingredients shoved away at the back of my fridge that were just on the verge of transforming from delicious ripeness to fetid mush, it’s full of brightness, salt and spice. Avocados and eggs work wonderfully together – the buttery soft sweetness of the avocado working wonderfully with the silken custardy wobble of barely set scrambled eggs. Add a handful of chopped tomatoes, a few crumbles of crispy bacon and a gigantic dash of hot sauce, and you’re done.

I’d advise you to make much more of this than you think you’ll need, or – at the very least – to stock up on the ingredients, as this is the kind of thing you’ll want to make again and again once you see how good (and how easy to make) it is. When served up with some granary toast and a mug of tea in front of the football, this is a weekend breakfast delight to savour.

AVOCADO, BACON AND TOMATO SCRAMBLE (Serves Two)

You will need:

• 4 medium sized eggs
• 4 rashers of good quality bacon
• The innards of a ripe, medium sized avocado, diced
• 6 cherry tomatoes, diced
• A dash of hot sauce (I used Frank’s)
• Salt and Pepper to season

Make It!

1. First, grill your bacon. If you don’t know how to grill bacon, then I’m afraid we’re through. I can’t really help you there. (Although one of these helps.) Once it’s crispy, chop it into fine pieces. Set to one side.
2. While your bacon is cooking, scramble some eggs. Crack them into a bowl, and add a dash of milk and plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a teaspoon of butter in a saucepan, and pour in the egg mixture. Once it has started to set at the sides of the saucepan, scramble the mixture with a fork. Keep scrambling until it has barely set, and has a custardy texture.
3. Add the avocado chunks, diced tomatoes and bits of bacon. Smother with Frank’s hot sauce and eat immediately (preferably accompanied by a buttered roll and a giant mug of tea.)

The Bacon Sandwich challenge: Red or Brown?

Ah, the humble bacon sandwich. No weekend is complete without one. Well, not in my house anyway. I’m currently in the process of training for my first 5k race, and many mornings it’s only the thought of the pristine porcine goodness awaiting me afterwards which keeps me running. Indeed, I’m thinking of asking Mr. Cay to attach one to a piece of string and wave it in front of me to keep me going during race day.

I’m fairly fussy in terms of how I take my bacon sandwich sarnie. It should be served on cheap white bread (such as the ubiquitous Warburton’s Toastie loaf) which has been slathered in good salted butter. And it should always, always come with ketchup – although if I’m feeling adventurous, I may put a good dollop of sriracha in there. Brown sauce should never come into the equation, being a solely sausage-sandwich approved condiment.

However, here at Little Red Courgette, we (well, OK, *I*) believe in experimentation and breaking new culinary boundaries, even if that does require me to take one for the team and put brown sauce where brown sauce should never go. So when Tracklements asked me if I’d like to take their bacon sandwich challenge, I gladly accepted . The rules were simple. Which one is better on your bacon -  ketchup or brown sauce? Well, there’s only one way to find out. FIGHT! I mean FRY!

In the interests of fairness, I pulled my trusty research assistant (Mr. Cay) away from the Formula One for ten minutes to aid me in my tasting notes. First up was the bacon sandwich containing the ketchup. Tracklements describe this as being packed with ‘the best, ripe Italian tomatoes’ and you can tell. Mainly because it actually looked and smelt like it had come into contact with an actual  tomato at some point in its life.  Despite its smooth texture, it tasted more like a relish than a ketchup and had a fresh, vibrant flavour. Whereas Heinz Tomato Ketchup is quite sweet with a firm vinegary punch, this is far more grown up fare. We both loved this, and I found myself dipping rounds of toast into it throughout the day. I’m already thinking of ways in which I can incorporate it into various marinades and sauces I intend to whip up over the coming weeks (well, if we don’t use it all up on breakfast products first).

The brown sauce didn’t fare so well. Mr. Cay refused to go anywhere near it for one thing, declaring it to “not be to his taste”.  I, however, decided to go in there full throttle, using a whole three rashers for this little tasting session. Despite saying that it was ‘fruity,’ I couldn’t really taste any of the tamarind sourness that you usually expect to find in a brown sauce. Instead, what I got was a incredibly powerful savoury hit from the soy sauce contained within its ingredients, which overwhelmed the salty, porky taste of the bacon. Personally, I would have preferred the savoury notes to be dialled down a bit, as this would have helped to make the sauce taste a bit more complex. I imagine that this might go well with Bubble & Squeak, but sadly, it almost ruined my poor bacon sarnie.

Of course, if we were doing this scientifically, we’d have blind tastings and swigs of water between bites, rather than mildly-distracted tastings and mugs of strong builder’s tea to wash the whole lot down with. But, in our wholly un-objective opinion, when it comes to bacon, ketchup will always win out. Sorry brown sauce.

Thanks to Tracklements for sending me samples of their ketchup & brown sauce to review.

Apple and Sultana Spice Loaf

I’ve just spent a very pleasant few days at Supersonic Festival in Birmingham, where I listened to a lot of very eclectic, VERY NOISY music (personal highlights being Cloaks, Scorn, Teeth of the Sea, Klaus Kinski (a group of boys who played guitars and screamed at lot whilst jumping off masonry and wearing short-shorts), Zombi, Cut Hands and Silver Apples), drank a lot of booze and ate a lot of cake.

I’m pretty much convinced that as well as putting on some of the most interesting bands of any music festival currently taking place in the U.K, Supersonic also serves up the best cake. Myself, Mr. Cay and a few other miscreants all spent a lovely hour on Sunday afternoon munching on sweet treats and cooing over our friends John and Maria’s adorable baby son. I indulged in a slice of Apple and Sultana Loaf, which was heady with cinnamon, and just the thing to recharge my batteries after two days of having my eardrums beaten to a bloody pulp with ‘power electronics’.

I’ve thought about that cake a lot since returning to Liverpool, so, I decided to head to my kitchen and attempt to recreate it for myself. Whereas the version I ate seemed to only use cinnamon, I decided to make mine slightly punchier (and a bit more Autumnal) by adding allspice, ginger and nutmeg. I also layered the top with some apple slices which were then sprinkled with a bit more cinnamon (you can never have enough cinnamon in my opinion) and some demerara sugar.

The finished product reminded me less of a cake, and more of a tea loaf – the kind of thing which is ideal when toasted and served up with plenty of butter. It was just the thing to munch on last night whilst Mr. Cay and I sat around our house listening to Whitehouse and planning world domination. It also made a pretty decent breakfast this morning too, even if the noisiest thing I was listening to was politicians arguing on Radio Four.

Seasonal, spicy and sumptuous, this Apple and Sultana Spice Loaf is a doddle to make and a dream to eat. Why not bake some tonight? Listening to extreme noise music whilst you’re making it is optional though.

APPLE AND SULTANA SPICE LOAF

You will need:

• 300g self raising flour
• 150g muscovado sugar
• 100g sultanas
• 270g bramley apple sauce
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 medium sized Granny Smith apple
• 1 level teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 level teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dried ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon allspice
• 5 tablespoons milk
• Pinch of salt

Make It!

1. Heat your oven to 200 degrees C/Gas Mark 6, and grease up a loaf tin. If you’re lazy, or just have a pound shop conveniently near your office (I LOVE YOU HOME BARGAINS), nab yourself a sillicon loaf dish for some loose change (you can thank me for this later).
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the raisins, muscovado sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, dried ginger and salt. Take a wooden spoon and mash the whole lot together until well combined.
3. Add the apple sauce, eggs and milk to the dry ingredients and stir until a thick gloopy batter has been formed. Spoon the mixture into your loaf tin and level out the surface with a spatula.
4. Chop your apple into thin slices, and layer these over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and some demerara sugar if you have any handy (if you don’t, ordinary sugar will work just fine).
5. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for around an hour, or until it feels firm to the touch, and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Turn out onto a wire rack, and leave to cool for half an hour.
6. This loaf is great both on its own, or served toasted and slathered in butter. It also goes very well with a large mug of Earl Grey.

A Very Scottish Breakfast – Lorne Sausage and Potato Scones

It’s Mr. Cay’s birthday on Tuesday. I was always raised to believe that it’s never polite to discuss a gentleman’s age in public, so I won’t tell you how old he’s going to be. However, I can tell you that he’s not happy about it. Not happy at all. Have you ever tried living with a grumpy Scotsman readers? I’ll tell you now, it’s not exactly a laugh riot.

Mr. Cay has often talked about his love of square sausage with a faraway look in his eyes as he’s cursed the fact that it’s nigh on impossible to find the stuff South of the Border. So, to encourage domestic harmony (and because I like a challenge), I decided to celebrate his advent into middle age by making him a traditional Scottish breakfast – Square (also known as Lorne) sausage and potato scones. Go to any halfway decent greasy spoon in Scotland, and you’ll find both of these being served, usually by women with thick arms who call anyone and everyone ‘Hen’. Fried in butter, and smothered in ketchup, they are heart-attack-inducingly good, especially when washed down with a cup of strong tea.

I’ve always loved potato scones, although, being from the North West of England, I’ve always known them as potato cakes. When I was a kid, my Dad would often buy us packs when he went shopping and we’d toast them and devour them in record time – usually before we’d unpacked the rest of the shopping. Making them is alarmingly easy and immensely satisfying – just add mashed potatoes to some flour and melted butter, slice and grill on a screamingly hot pan.

Seeing as my butchery skills are remedial at best, I was slightly worried about how my attempts at sausage making would turn out. Especially when – whilst explaining my project to my local butcher – he scratched his head and informed me that a) he’d never heard of Lorne Sausage and b) adding allspice to pork was ‘all kinds of wrong’. I needn’t have fretted. The finished product was delicious – thick, fatty, and spicy, it was everything a good sausage would be, especially when accompanied with piping hot potato scones, fresh off the griddle. It was so good in fact, that Mr. Cay’s usual Mark E. Smith esque scowl turned into a wide eyed grin which lasted for the rest of the day – even when he stubbed his toe against the bathtub. Which makes me wonder. Why can’t all of life’s little problems be solved with pork and carb-heavy foodstuffs?

LORNE [SQUARE] SAUSAGE (Makes around eight slices)

You will need:

• 450g good quality pork sausagemeat
• 450g good quality beef mince (not too lean!)
• 120g dried breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• Salt and Pepper to season

Make It!

1. Plop your dried breadcrumbs in a bowl and add 150ml water to them. Mix until it forms a smooth paste. (You can skip this part if you’re using fresh stuff made from leftover bread).
2. Add the pork and beef mince, allspice, coriander & salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs, and mix thoroughly. Use your (clean) hands to do this – it’s really rewarding to feel all the ingredients squish through your fingers. You want to make sure that everything is combined really well, otherwise you’ll get huge lumps of meat or rusk when you’re eating your sausages.
3. Pack the mixture tightly into a loaf tin which has been lined with clingfilm, and chill for two-three hours.  When you’re ready to cook your sausages, cut off thick slices and grill in a piping hot griddle pan. Serve with potato scones and lashings of ketchup.

I made my potato scones with mashed potato that I’d made the night before, mainly because I didn’t really feel like indulging in a bit of spud bashing at 10.30am on a Sunday morning. However, these work just as well with freshly made mash, which may actually add a little bit more moisture to the finished product. Just be sure to add plenty of butter and salt & pepper, as these help to give the potato scones some flavour.

POTATO SCONES (Makes six pieces)

You will need:

• 225g mashed potatoes
• 100g plain flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Salt and Pepper to season

Make It!

1. Add the flour and melted butter to the mashed potatoes, and mix until a stiff dough is formed.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll until about quarter of an inch thick.
3. Cut the dough into six (slightly uneven if you’re anything like me) triangles. Prick these all over with a fork, before cooking them on a griddle or in a heavy pan, which has been lightly greased with oil or butter.
4. The scones are ready when they are golden brown, and have formed small black blisters on each side.

Miss Cay eats London: Breakfast at Dishoom, Lunch at Scoop, Dinner at Byron

It’s been five years since I moved away from London, and there’s a lot of things I miss about the place. I miss my friends, and seeing my reflection illuminated in the coloured lights of the Wellcome Institute. I miss the smell of tube stations – that strange combination of dirt and history. But most of all, I miss the food. London is home to some of the best restaurants in the UK and – like it or not – arguably the most vibrant and involved food culture. Living in Liverpool, and reading numerous blogs posts about the most exciting recent openings, always makes me feel as though I’m pressing my nose against the glass of what’s out there. It also makes me determined to eat at as many amazing restaurants as possible whenever I pay the capital a visit.

I’m lucky enough to visit London regularly (at the moment, it’s around once a month) which provides me with ample opportunity to tick a few of the must-eat-at restaurants off my list. And this visit was no exception. I spent yesterday running around the city with my American cousin in tow, eating some seriously good food and remembering just how much I hate the tourist areas of London, and the huge swathes of humanity who somehow feel that it is their god given right to cluster outside the entrances of tube stations.

We started our eating adventures at Dishoom, a Bombay style café situated in Covent Garden. I’d heard amazing things about their Bacon Naan rolls, and I’m pleased to report that they didn’t disappoint. Deliciously plump rashers of bacon had been grilled to perfection, crispy and thick with smoky fat. The naans were warm, soft and delicious – more chappati like in texture than the pillowy specimens I’m used to getting from my local takeaway (although this is no bad thing). However, the highlight was undeniably the homemade chilli jam which came on the side. This sweet zingy condiment turned a good breakfast into a sensational one, and I found myself picking pieces of out of my naan just so I could dip them into this amazing condiment.

Honourable mention should also go to the cups of chai we ordered to wash our breakfast down. Spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, it provided the warm kick we needed to face walking around an unseasonably wet London.

It’s Dishoom’s first birthday at the moment, and they’re giving away lots of free food and booze providing you whisper some magic words to their lovely waitresses (these can be found on their Facebook page). A swift singsong of HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY! led to us getting a free breakfast which, in case you were wondering, is always a sure fire way to win my heart.

After walking around the seventh circle of Hell which is Topshop on Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon (NEVER AGAIN), I decided that gelato was required.  Thankfully, we weren’t that far away from Soho, so it was time to make a swift stop at Scoop. 

I was introduced to Scoop by my friend Jess last September and now no trip to London is complete without me indulging in tub of this heavenly stuff. Walking into Scoop, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. The counter displays rows upon rows of brightly coloured frozen delights, all whipped up and looking like the world’s tastiest rainbow. If you’d like to try before you buy, the friendly lady behind the counter will be more than happy to hand you a small taste of each different flavour, so you can get a taste before you dive into the main event.

We decided to go for two scoops each – both of us got the Dark Chocolate Sorbet (Cioccolato Fondente) and my cousin opted for the Torroncino whilst I got a scoop of the raspberry sorbet. The Cioccolate Fondente was outstanding - black as night,  fruity and rich with 70% cocoa, it managed to be so much more than just a simple concoction of chocolate and frozen water. I adored my raspberry sorbet, sharp, tart with just the right amount of sweetness, it was just the thing to cut through the richness of the chocolate.

At £3.50 for three scoops, this is one of the cheapest means conceivable of getting your rocks off. Don’t be put off by the calorie charts behind the counter either. Indeed, just forget about the diet altogether, and dive into a pot of fats and sugars which is so good, the UN should hand it out to warring nations to promote world peace.

The last food stop of the day saw us schlepping down Charing Cross Road to enjoy a burger at Byron.  By this point of the day we were both exhausted. We were cold, tired, incredibly wet and fed up of various tourists poking us in our delicate places with their umbrellas. We required booze and a Cheeseburger the size of our own heads. Each. When I saw the Byron sign emerging out of the rain like a beacon, I knew that this was the place for us.

I’ve heard numerous things about Byron – most of them good – and have wanting to try out the burgers offered by this burgeoning chain for a while. I was also intrigued to see whether they could replace the Meatwagon’s infamous Dead Hippy in my affections.

Whilst my Byron Burger was excellent, it still pales into insignificance compared to the mighty Dead Hippy. Saying that though, I liked the bun which was hefty enough to stand up to the weight of the burger and toppings, and didn’t fall apart after a few bites.  I was also pleased to see that it was cooked to a perfect medium rare, with a nice crust on the meat although I’d have preferred it if some juices had oozed out when I bit into it (but hey, perhaps that’s the American in me talking). The cheese and bacon were both delicious, although a dab more of the signature Byron dressing wouldn’t have gone amiss either.

The side of courgette fries were superb  - thin strips of courgette coated in a tempura batter. Each strip was brilliantly crisp and worryingly moreish. I demolished a bowl of these, vowing whilst I was eating them that I would attempt to recreate them in my own kitchen. My American cousin was also thrilled to see that they served A&W Root Beer (the only real root beer in our opinion) and, that for an extra 50p, you could get it as a float. Our bill came to £30 altogether and whilst it may have been more expensive than a train station Burger King, it was a hell of a lot more satisfying.

We wobbled back to Euston satiated, happy, and probably a stone heavier. Once again, London didn’t disappoint on the food front. I’m looking forward to my next trip where I intend to tackle the infamous Hawksmoor. Waistline, I apologise in advance.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I dream of pancakes. Huge fluffy pancakes dripping in syrup and butter. Pancakes topped with crispy bacon that shatters into small pieces as soon as your teeth make contact.  Pancakes like the ones I got from the small ‘Mom and Pop’ diner I visited when I was in Boston last year which comes with five different types of syrup, unlimited coffee refills and are the size of a coffee table. Give me a pancake and I’ll be a very happy lady indeed. Give me two and I’ll be your friend for life.

Being one of those American types however, I won’t just settle for any pancakes. Indeed, I cock a veritable snook at the pale imitations which are served up on dinner tables across the land every Shrove Tuesday. Those pale and weedy french-inspired crepé things which are made from a pre-prepared batter and are served up with lemon and white sugar just don’t cut the mustard with me. I like my pancakes to be pillowy yet robust. Strong enough to be piled high and crowned ceremoniously with pork products. A study tower of batter than can cope with being ceremoniously smothered in Aunt Jemima’s syrup and shovelled down my consistently hungry gob.

This pancakes are a revelation. A perfect symphony of eggs, flour and buttermilk which come together to create a meal which is lick-your-plate-clean good. Indeed, I’d argue that they’re so good that it would be a crime to just consume them on Shrove Tuesday. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, ‘eat them at brunch, eat them at lunch, eat them at other points in the day which end with the suffix -unch’. OK, so maybe food-based poetry isn’t my strong point. But making these pancakes? That definitely is. You should make these. You can thank me later.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

You will need:

• 240ml buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 114g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 120g plain flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Make It!

1. Whisk together the milk, eggs and vegetable oil in a medium bowl, then whisk in the butter.
2. Stir together your  flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in another medium bowl. Whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients until the whole lot is combined into a thick batter.
3. Spray a frying panwith nonstick vegetable spray. Pour ladles of batter into your frying pan and cook until bubbles have formed on the top and the sides and edges of the pancakes are beginning to turn brown.
4. Carefully flip your pancakes with a spatula and cook for a minute more until the undersides are golden. Serve with crispy bacon and maple syrup. I imagine that these would be sensational with Candied Bacon – much like the stuff Helen Graves of Food Stories has created here.

Cheddar & Herb Breakfast Muffins

I’m not really a breakfast person. The thought of scarfing down a bowl of cold soggy Cornflakes with my morning coffee fills me with dread, our Toaster has a horrible habit of trapping my homemade bread inside it and setting it on fire (leaving my house smelling of cinders and death), and whilst porridge is tasty, whenever I eat it, I’m always hungry by mid morning. Usually, I’m forced to grab an Apple and a Muller Lite from the canteen at my workplace or scoff the previous night’s leftovers. Have you ever tried eating Hot and Sour Aubergines at 7.30am? I really don’t recommend it.

However, I have a Mother who used to impress the importance of a good breakfast upon me each and every day before I left for school. In her eyes, a cup of tea and a pack of Spearmint TicTacs didn’t provide a growing teenage girl with all the nourishment she needed to go forth and prosper in the big bad world. And whilst I (foolishly) have gone against most of her advice in my 28 years on this earth (Mum, if you’re reading this, sorry about the whole ‘smoking’ thing), her wise words about breakfast still rattle around my brain each and every time I contemplate leaving for work with only a cup of tea in my stomach.

These Cheddar and Herb Breakfast Muffins are my attempt to solve that whole ‘what shall I have for breakfast this morning?’ conundrum. Filled with cubes of deliciously melty, oozing cheddar and most of the dried herbs I had stored away in my cupboard, they’re filling without being too stodgy. All you need to do is break them in half, add a smear of butter to their innards and you’re away. Best of all, being portable, they’re the perfect handheld snack to stuff into your gob whilst you’re skidding around in the snow.  I imagine they’d work equally well when paired with a bowl of soup, but to tell you the truth, these smelled so delicious when they came out of the oven that I ate two of them in one gulp and had to hide the others so I have them for breakfast tomorrow. After all, I believe in delayed gratification…and these are definitely muffins worth waiting until morning for.

CHEDDAR AND HERB BREAKFAST MUFFINS (makes 6)
You can use both dried and fresh herbs for this recipe. If you use fresh then use maybe 1/2 teaspoon more of the herbs.

You will need:

• 240g plain flour
• 240g cubed cheddar (I used a relatively strong cheddar in my muffins, but like many things in life, your mileage may vary)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium egg
• 80ml buttermilk (Not sure how to make Buttermilk? Follow this handy guide!)
• 60ml olive oil

Make It!

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/200 degrees C. Line a muffin tray with paper cups, or alternatively, spray the innards with some spray oil.
2. Whisk together the flour, Cheddar, sugar, thyme, rosemary, basil, salt and baking powder. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and egg. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Mix together until gloppy and all ingredients have just come together.
3. Spoon into baking cups and bake for 20-22 minutes. (Be careful when you’re putting these into the oven, and don’t burn your hand on the grill filament like I did. OUCH OUCH OUCH). Cool in pan on a wire rack for a minute or two. Serve immediately.