BAKED EGGS WITH ASPARAGUS SOLDIERS

These eggs, baked in a blanket of crème fraîche with a mushroom and spring onion, are inspired by Rachel Khoo and a quick fridge forage for ingredients. Serve with mountains of hot buttered toast (cut into soldiers, of course). I give the quantities per person, because then it’s easy to scale up if you’re serving two, four, or having a luxurious breakfast for one.

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Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. You will need a small ramekin per egg. Put 1 heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche at the bottom of your ramekin, then top with the finely chopped mushroom, half the spring onion and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Step 2

Crack the egg in over the mushrooms, then gently top with another heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche and the remaining spring onion. Season with salt and pepper, then put the ramekin into a roasting tin.

Step 3

Pop the asparagus spears in the tin alongside, dress them with the olive oil, salt and pepper, then transfer to the oven and bake for 12–15 minutes, until the egg is just set, but still dippable. (Cook for longer if you prefer your egg more set.)

Step 4

Serve the egg and asparagus with buttered toast soldiers.

Step 5

NOTE: This is one of the few recipes where having a slightly differently temperatured oven will make a difference to the finished dish. I’d recommend watching the egg from 10 minutes, giving it a prod, then returning to the oven if needed.