CRACKING INGREDIENT


We’re all about good honest ingredients at Good Food Ireland. And there’s not much more good and honest than a fresh, free range egg! It’s simplicity itself, a little pod of goodness that can be used in a myriad of dishes. Personally, we think opening a carton of  half a dozen super fresh free range eggs is like opening a gift! There they are, sitting proudly in their little presentation box, just waiting to be enjoyed. What shall we do with them?!

Poached eggs are sublime – and you don’t need any fancy equipment to make one. A simple saucepan of barely bubbling water with a splash of white wine vinegar added. In goes your fresh egg – best to do this by cracking it into a cup first then sliding it into the water. Some people swirl the water first to help the egg make a nice round shape.  In moments the white will have set soft, enclosing a runny golden yolk. Drain and pop it on toast, sit it on a bed of spinach and top with a creamy hollaindaise, perch it on poached smoked haddock or slices of smoked salmon. Just a few things to enhance  your poached egg experience!

Boiled eggs – three minutes for a soft yolk, a little longer for hard boiled. Hard boiled eggs are great in salads. Avoid getting the black ring around the yolk of an hardboiled egg by cooling thoroughly under running water for a few minutes before peeling. Quarter or chop into rice or pasta salads. finely chopand mix with breadcrumbs and parsley for a topping for cooked cauliflower or broccoli.  Halve and perch on salad leaves with other ingredients like crispy bacon pieces, sundried tomatoes and olives, or use in a seasonal Salade Nicoise, with tuna, green beans, new potatoes, ancovies and olives.

Beaten eggs make a simple omelette, filled with nothing but a little grated cheese if that’s all you have. Make it fancy by changing fillings – goat’s cheese and Parma ham, creme fraiche and smoked salmon, button mushrroms sauted with cream – you get the picture! Also use beaten sasoned eggs with fresh chopped herbs added for what the Spanish call tortilla and the Italians call frittata – an omelette ‘cake’ of eggs set around a mix of veggies.The  Spanish like to use layers of cooked potato and sauteed onion, while the Italians could choose courgettes and asparagus. Be as adventurous as you like –  plenty of seasonal vegetables to pick from this time of year. This makes a great supper in wedges from the pan, or left to go cold and transported for a picnic.