Green Eggs with Halloumi and Herbs
Forget green eggs and ham (at least until you get to the swaps below!) and enjoy your eggs with halloumi and herbs instead. This is a brilliant all-day meal – equally good for brunch, lunch or supper. You can easily scale the quantities down for one, or double them to serve four and cook in two batches. It ticks the boxes for lots of lovely greens, made irresistible with creamy scrambled eggs.
Serves 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
- oil or fat for cooking
- 100g halloumi, cut into small cubes
- a bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
- 100g kale or spinach, coarse stalks removed, roughly shredded
- a handful of frozen peas
- 4 eggs
- a knob of butter (optional)
- sea salt and black pepper
TO FINISH
- a handful of herbs, such as chives, parsley or coriander, finely chopped
- Dukka (optional)
Heat a little oil or fat in a medium non-stick frying pan over a fairly high heat. Add the halloumi and sizzle until starting to brown on the underside. Turn and cook until golden on the other side.
Add the spring onions and the shredded kale or spinach to the pan and sweat, stirring occasionally, until wilted.
Stir in the frozen peas and cook with the greens, tossing or stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until the veges are tender. Tip the veges and halloumi onto a plate and set aside. Lower the heat under the pan.
Beat the eggs together lightly in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add a little extra oil or knob of butter to the pan and once it is melted and foaming, pour in the beaten egg.
As it starts to set at the edges, use a spatula or wooden spoon to stir the set egg back into the wet egg. Keep stirring now and then until the eggs are scrambled as soft or firm as you like.
Add the veges and halloumi back to the pan to warm through, then divide between warmed plates.
Sprinkle over the chopped herbs, then the dukka if using. Finish with a grinding of black pepper.
SWAPS
In place of the kale or spinach, use another leafy green, such as cavolo nero, spring greens or chard, or broccoli florets, roughly chopped. You can also revive the green eggs and ham concept by sizzling some bacon in place of the halloumi.
SOME MORE QUICK WAYS TO ‘VEGE-UP’ YOUR EGGS
The classics of the “eggs on toast” genre can be almost instantly veged up with the addition of some green pesto, or a spicy kraut or kimchi. Just spread the pesto or kraut/kimchi generously on wholemeal toast, and top it with 2 eggs, poached, fried or scrambled to your liking.
Creamy Roast Cauli and Cashew Soup
This is a deliciously creamy white soup, packed with lots of lovely alliums (leek, onion, garlic), which get roasted with the cauli. If you have time, leave the cashews to soak for a few hours to soften – they’ll blend to a smoother finish. The garlic topping is a great addition and can be made ahead, but it’s by no means essential. The soup is lovely on its own, or with a dollop of pesto.
Serves 4 / Prep time: approx 1 hour
Cooking time: 25 mins at 190°C/170°C fan
- 100g cashew nuts
- 1.2–1.5 litres hot vegetable stock
- 1 large cauliflower (about 1.5kg), trimmed and cut into small florets, leaves kept
- 2 leeks, trimmed and cut into chunks
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp oil or melted fat
- 5 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
- sea salt and black pepper
GARLIC OIL TOPPING
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp sunflower or pumpkin seeds (or a mix)
- a pinch of dried chilli flakes
TO FINISH
- a small handful of chives, finely chopped, and/or parsley
Put the cashews into a bowl, pour on 1.2 litres hot stock and leave to soak for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan.
Put the cauliflower florets into a large roasting tray, along with their roughly chopped leaves (if they’re in good nick). Add all the other veges and the cumin seeds. Add the oil or fat, season well with salt and pepper and toss the veges to coat lightly.
Transfer the roasting tray to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes until all the veges are tender and golden.
In the meantime, make the topping. Put the extra virgin olive oil into a small saucepan with the garlic, seeds, chilli flakes and a pinch of salt.
Place over a medium heat and heat gently for just a minute or two until the garlic starts to turn pale golden. Immediately take off the heat and pour the garlicky oil into a bowl. Leave to infuse until the soup is ready.
Scrape the contents of the roasting tray into a jug blender, add the thyme leaves and tip in the cashew nuts, along with their soaking liquor. Blitz until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat gently, without boiling. (Or you can blitz the soup directly in a saucepan, using a stick blender, as you reheat it.) Either way, add a dash more stock to thin the soup a little if it seems too thick.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and top each serving with a trickle of the crispy garlic oil and a sprinkle of chopped chives and/or parsley.
Courgette, Honey and Lemon Cake
The mighty lemon drizzle cake is everyone’s favourite bake. This spin on it has the unlikely inclusion of courgettes, which balances the sweetness and keeps the cake nice and moist, too. It’s also a great way to make a dent in a glut of summer courgettes. The lemon drizzle topping makes it irresistibly zingy. You can also serve the cake as a dessert with crème fraîche, summer berries and an extra trickle of honey.
Makes 8-10 slices / Prep time: approx 40 minutes
Cooking time: 50 mins at 180°C/160°C fan
- 350g coarsely grated courgettes (about 2 medium)
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 150g wholemeal spelt flour
- 100g fine plain wholemeal flour
- 100g ground almonds or hazelnuts
- ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 30g poppy seeds (optional)
- 125ml rapeseed or coconut oil
- 50g soft light brown sugar
- 30g honey
- 3 medium eggs
- finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked and chopped (optional)
- 50ml milk
LEMON DRIZZLE
- finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp honey
- 20g caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan and line a 1kg loaf tin with baking paper.
Tip the grated courgettes into a fine-meshed sieve set over a bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and toss through (it will draw out moisture from the courgettes). Leave to drain for 20 minutes or so, then press the courgettes with the back of a spoon to get rid of a bit more water.
In a bowl, mix together the flours, ground nuts, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and poppy seeds if using. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar and honey. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then stir in the grated courgettes, lemon zest and juice, and the thyme if using. Now, gently fold in the flour mixture, alternately with the milk. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and risen.
While the cake is in the oven, make the lemon drizzle. In a small bowl, lightly mix the lemon zest and juice with the honey and sugar to combine without dissolving the sugar.
To check the cake is cooked, insert a skewer into the middle – it should come out clean. As soon as you take the cake from the oven, spoon the lemon drizzle over the surface. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer it to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
SWAPS AND ADDITIONS
Use grated squash or pumpkin instead of courgette. Or go 50:50 with courgette and a grated root, such as beetroot, carrot or parsnip. Just mix it with the courgette before salting. Beetroot, as you can imagine, makes a gorgeous pinky purple version.
An edited extract from How to Eat 30 Plants a Week, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall ($54.99, Bloomsbury Publishing).
