Vegetarian mains
Bubble and squeak cakes with eggs
These potato cakes, lightly spiced with garam masala and served with our great-tasting organic eggs and tomatoes, make for a simple and comforting supper. If you aren't that hungry, then just fry four of the cakes and chill or freeze a couple of un-fried ones for another day.
Ingredients
- 3 large tomatoes or more small
- oil for frying and roasting, e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 1 large or 2 smaller onions
- 50g butter
- 150g curly kale
- 750g potatoes
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche
- 6 eggs
- 25g plain flour
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 5. Peel the potatoes and chop into 2cm dice. Put them in a pan with a good couple of pinches of salt. Cover with water. Put the pan on to boil. Once boiling, cook for about 10 minutes until soft, then drain.
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Step 2
Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half crossways. Lay them cut-side up on a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Season and keep to one side. Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat half the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan.
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Step 3
Add the onion and fry on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Add a splash of water if it looks like catching at any point. Once cooked, remove from the heat and keep to one side. Wash the kale. Pick the leaves off, discarding the stalks.
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Step 4
Refill the potato pan with water and put it back on the hob. Mash the potatoes in a large bowl. Leave them to cool for 10 minutes. Add the kale to the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Drain the kale and run under cold water. Use your hands to squeeze out any excess moisture then finely chop it.
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Step 5
Once the potatoes have cooled for 10 minutes, add the onion, kale, garam masala and crème fraîche. Season with salt and pepper. Separate 2 eggs into yolks and whites. Add the yolks to the potato mixture. Gently mix.
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Step 6
Put the flour in a shallow dish. Shape the potato mix into 6 balls then flatten them slightly into burger patty shapes. Carefully turn them in the flour to lightly dust them. If you have time, chill the patties for 15 minutes; this will firm them up a little making it slightly easier to fry.
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Step 7
If you've not got time, just treat them carefully. Put the tomatoes in the oven to bake while you cook the potato cakes. Heat the rest of the butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the patties and fry gently for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
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Step 8
Transfer to a plate and pop in the oven while you fry the eggs. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the same frying pan. Crack in the remaining 4 eggs and fry for 2-3 minutes, until cooked to your liking. Serve the cakes with the eggs on top and the tomatoes on the side.
