Bubble & Squeak Cakes with Poached Egg: My Christmas Leftover Breakfast

First off, let's get the name out of the way. If you're not English, Australian or from another Commonwealth country than you're probably utterly perplexed. Perfect. Bubble and Squeak is a dish originally made up of leftover meat and cabbage fried up together. Today, the meat is often replaced with potatoes. 

The dish is now a lovely mashed potato cake with various vegetables added in. Usually cabbage and spring onions but also brussel sprouts or winter greens. It gets its name from the sounds made when cooking. Simple, right? I can hear a collective "Aha" moment happening right now.

We all face the same leftover issues. I have Christmas Dinner on two straight days. Everybody rushes for the turkey and leaves behind all those other tempting goodies. The mashed potatoes get thrown out, as do the brussel sprouts and other veggies. What a shame. With just a little bit of love you can turn those forgotten dinner side dishes into a fabulous breakfast with your family.

The truth is, Christmas leftovers are brilliant in this British classic. Get ready to let the joyful indulgence continue. You'll love these leftovers so much that you'll make your own mashed potatoes at home just to make this. Trust me. They're that good.

The cakes in this recipe are similar to traditional potato cakes but instead start with mashed potatoes. The difference is the sublime, chewy texture of these British cakes. They're also riddled with flavour in each and every bite.

So the next time you get together for a holiday dinner, run for the leftover potatoes. Within a few minute and a few twists you'll have a lovely breakfast to enjoy with your family all over again. That is if you can wait that long.

Happy leftover Eating!


Bubble and Squeak Cakes with Poached Egg

Yields: 2

The Goods:

• 1 small bunch green onions, sliced on the bias
• knob of butter
• 4 large potatoes (peeled, cooked and roughly mashed)
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded and cooked
• small bunch parsley, chopped
• a bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1 tomato, diced
• olive oil
• 1 tsp. white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 2 poached eggs

Prep:

1. In a large pan over medium heat, cook half of the green onions in butter for a minute. Add in the potatoes, cabbage, parsley and half of the cilantro. Season liberally and form into 4 small cakes.
2. Over medium heat, fry the cakes in butter and olive oil for 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and crisp.
3.  To make the salsa, mix the other half of the cilantro and green onions with the tomatoes, 1 tbsp olive oil and white wine vinegar. Season.
4. Serve two cakes per plate topped with a poached egg and tomato salsa on the side.

 

** This post made Foodbuzz Top 9!

Eggs Benedict with Crispy Prosciutto

I love the smell of fresh Autumn air pushing through my window early on a Saturday morning. I roll over and look at my wife and realize that life is pretty fantastic. I'm blessed with so many things and the only way to I can show my appreciation and love for this woman is by whipping up something in the kitchen that tells her taste buds just how I really feel.

The pattern is there and before we know it we slip into a trance of rituals and routines. I wake up and brew a pot of coffee and get to work on an omelette or eggs or french toast and home fries.  Depending on the season I may add in some fresh cut fruit with a splash of lime juice and pinch of sugar or add vanilla to my ricotta cakes for a new infusion of flavour. No matter what, the routine doesn't change all that much. It merely varies.

Today was different. I wanted a new way to tell her just how I feel and what better way than making a classic French dish. After all, France is the motherland of romance. A dish that is so decadent it eats like dessert. It eats that way because of the sauce. Eggs Benedict, as all foodies know, is all about the hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise is one of the five foundation sauces in the French repertoire. It's basic yet so good that it fits with so many dishes, however none better than Eggs Benedict. It's a simple emulsion of egg yolks and butter, seasoned with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper. The sauce is rich, buttery and tangy. It transforms eggs from an ordinary state to a classic level.

The classic Eggs Benedict is a combination of poached eggs, either runny or stiff, peameal bacon, English muffins and hollandaise sauce. I prefer a different version. I like my English muffins toasted and browned, crispy prosciutto, poached eggs with runny yolks and a creamy hollandaise sauce that finishes the dish. I also like putting together Eggs Benedict with Crispy Prosciutto and Herb Roasted Potatoes. Potatoes roasted with garlic, oil and parsley and rosemary. Crunchy and soft and loaded with that herb flavour goodness.

I hadn't made Eggs Bendedict in quite some time but I'll be adding it to my repertoire now. It's rich and delicious and, most of all, it make my wife happy. That's what it's all about. Sitting down at the table with family and enjoying life together.

This post made Foodbuzz.com Top 9!!!