28 January 2013

Healthy Ham, Egg and Chips

Since having a baby I have been unable to read. Not literally, I'm not some sort of medical anomaly, but I just can't bring myself to read a book. It's strange, and slightly tricky as I still do one day a week working for a publisher. Magazines I can just about do however and Good Housekeeping is my magazine of choice. In fact it is Good Housekeeping and Nigellissima that have got me back into the kitchen even if what I'm choosing to cook isn't all that taxing. At least I'm cooking.

I never make ham, egg and chips. It's partly that it's one of those things that I think you can have in the pub and partly that whenever I do have it in the pub it comes with fat chips... which I loathe. I also think that if I were to have it at home it would morph into Brinner - bacon instead of the ham, bread instead of the chips and beans on the side to please Joe.

February's GH mag had a load of recipes that I wanted to cook in it and a rather lovely interview with Jennifer Saunders... added bonus. One of them was this Healthy Ham, Egg and Chips which seemed like a good way to use up some of the potatoes that have been hanging around for some time. I have also got into the habit of buying 12 eggs instead of 6 - mostly out of laziness - but it turns out that it's quite hard to use 12 eggs if you are not baking.

The recipe uses pulled ham hock which is apparently available in some supermarkets but they suggest using thick sliced ham if you can't find it. Tesco Metro didn't have either so Joe got two gammon steaks (250g) and grilled those up before starting the recipe which I think is what we'll do in future. Unless we can find any illusive ham hock. We also didn't have any fresh thyme (we used a sprinkling of dried), too few mushrooms and tomatoes and we ate it all quite happily between the two of us (not that I'd advise that... it was terrible gluttony on our part). I don't think I would have wanted any more tomatoes in it actually... it was very nice with the 150g we used. But here's the recipe as it should be - feel free to tinker with it at will.

Healthy Ham, Egg and Chips

Serves 4

3 medium potatoes, skin on and cut into 2cm dice
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
400g small closed cup mushrooms, halved or quartered as you like
4 fresh thyme sprigs
250g cherry tomatoes (although 100-150g fine as far as I'm concerned)
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 large eggs
125g pulled ham hock
chopped fresh parsley or chives to garnish

All the ingredients
 Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. You will need a large non-stick roasting tin and that's it!

1. In your roasting tin toss the potato cubes and onion in well seasoned oil and roast for 20 mins.

2. Add the mushrooms and thyme and toss together and then return to the oven for 25 mins or until the vegetables are tender and golden.

Adding the mushrooms
 3. Toss through the cherry tomatoes and mustard. Then make four spaces in the tin and crack in the eggs.



4. Return to the oven for 8-10 mins or until the egg whites are cooked.

Topped with ham and herbs


5. Top with the ham and herbs and serve.


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