Over the years I've been called many things, a few of them even complimentary, however one of those things has never been good cook. I just don't have the passion for it and so my cooking tends towards the very basic - Easy things that are difficult to get wrong.
This, added to my basic and simple nature, leaves me with a small repertoire of things I'll make when in the kitchen and whilst I'm not going to win any Michelin Stars for culinary excellence the food is generally edible as long as one isn't too fussy and food-snobbish.
Today I decided to deploy one of my go-to breakfasts, but it was actually dinner time! It's a simple and reasonably quick meal that, in truth, could be breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner...I don't set rules on my food...I prefer a more free-flowing food-journey in life so, breakfast is dinner and dinner is breakfast at times. Anyway here it is.
For those amazing cooks out there please bear with me, I'm a novice in the kitchen and have zero actual skill...I run on sheer energy, passion and hunger.
Smashed avocado with fetta and poached eggs on toast
I don't want to turn this into a recipe post so I'll keep it simple which suits my nature, intelligence and food preferences perfectly. This post will essentially introduce the dish and how I go about making it; I have skipped the step where I slice and cut everything ready to go but that's how I start, with everything washed cut up ready to combine and cook rather than wash and cut up as I go. So, let's get into it.
The bacon, [short cut in today's case], is fried, [dry pan no oil], and the mushrooms are sautéed afterwards in the same pan with some butter, virgin olive oil and a little Worcestershire sauce added. I don't salt the mushrooms though as I grind rock salt over whole the dish before serving. These are set aside in a low oven to stay hot whilst I go on to the next step.
The poached eggs are started - I sometimes do this in water but today I used my egg-poacher as it's easier for a terrible cook like me. Whilst that is happening I move on to the smashed avocado topping.
I take the avocados and squash them up - That's the smashed aspect of the meal. I like to leave them a little chunky though, not totally smooth. I add salt and pepper, very finely cut cubes of red onion, and some chopped mint although only a little as I garnish later with mint as well. I also add about three quarters of the crumbled fetta as the rest is used to sprinkle over the completed dish. This avocado mix gets covered and put in the fridge because I don't like things being unrefrigerated. Yep, my OCDness strikes again.
Then it's time to cut some bread, nice and thick of course and to toast it up.
The thick cut bread, [usually rye, but tiger loaf today], gets toasted on a grill thing as I like the lines that get burned into the bread. I drizzle virgin olive oil on the surface of the bread first and whack it on the hot grill thingy - Today I used the same pan I did the bacon and mushrooms in...It makes washing up easier to use the same pan of course. I don't mind a little char on it as that adds flavour and some crunch to counter-balance the smooth avocado topping...It just gives each mouthful some bite.
Below is my egg poacher. The little cups are non-stick although I spray them with canola oil also as the finished egg slips right out. I prefer a soft to medium poached egg, some hard yolk and a little runny too. Balance is important you see.
Now it all starts to come together
The toasted bred gets [very] lightly rubbed with a cut garlic clove for that little kick of flavour and I then I drizzle on some more virgin olive oil. The smashed avocado mixture is added and the poached egg on top and I'm almost done.
The bacon and mushrooms make their way onto the plate and I sprinkle on a little more of the chopped mint and remaining fetta cheese. I like to add some finely sliced radish on the top also. It adds some crunch to counter-balance the silkiness of the avocado mix and its strong, almost pungent, nature adds a nice pop of contrasting flavour in the mouth - It adds a little colour too. Over this goes a sprinkling of ground rock salt and black pepper and on the side a wedge of lemon and the dish is done...There's nothing more to do but tuck in and enjoy the concoction.
I know I'm probably doing things all wrong, that some may look at my dish and find fault and that's only to be expected - I'm me and not them and so will do things differently I guess, there'll be differing opinions, interpretations and perceptions...But this is how I do it and to date I've not complained about this dish when eating it.
I have done some variations of this dish over the last few years. Sometimes I add grilled haloumi cheese and a sprinkle of dukkha over the top in which case I add a spread of hummus on the bread as well as the garlic rub. I also have added a grilled chorizo on the side at times and also Mexicanised it once by adding tomato salsa and sour cream on top. There's no rules as I said earlier...What suits you will work. So, that's it y'all. 😉
Now how about you, do you have a go-to dish you like to cook for breakfast or anytime? Are you into simplicity like me or do you prefer to make it more complex, better presented or more technically correct when you cook? Drop a comment and let me know, even if that's to criticise my avocado breakfast...I don't mind, I have broad shoulders.
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