I’ve been away all week, and there’s so little left in my fridge. I was trying to work out what to make everyone and was flicking through my copy of Breakfasts, when I came across this recipe. What could be nicer than pastry, bacon and eggs on a Sunday morning?
In reality the version in the book is much prettier than mine, but now I know how to improve my own version.
The best thing about this recipe is that I was able to modify it to use what I had in my fridge. the original recipe calls for smoked back bacon and quails eggs. I had do make do with parma ham and hen’s eggs. No matter. Take some shop bought puff pastry and roll it out to a thin layer. Cut the edges to ensure a good rise, and cross hatch the pastry about 1 inch from the edge. Prick the base of the pastry to ensure it crisps properly.
Spread a little crème fraîche across the uncooked pastry, and season with pepper. I didn’t put any salt on, as I was using parma ham.
Place the parma ham, or smoked back bacon rashers across the crème fraîche, and pop into an oven at around 220oC for 10 minutes, or until you can see that the pastry is risen, but only just golden. I didn’t manage this, despite setting my timer – do watch your tart!
As I was using hen’s eggs, not quails, I lifted out the yolk from the majority of the egg white, I didn’t want it swimming in white. The dark patches you can see are where the parma ham has shrunk away from the crème fraîche, leaving it exposed. As a result the crème fraîche has browned. Either make sure you cover the crème fraîche adequately, or do watch your tart! Pop back into the oven for around 4 minutes, you want the white to be just set, but the yolk to still be runny…
Et voila… In my case an overcooked Parma ham and egg breakfast tart – but one which still tasted amazing. I will definitely make the version in the book with quails eggs, especially for guests – it tastes delicious, but would look much better done like that!
Update 12/02/12: Okay made it again this morning, this time actually with bacon and quails eggs – was delicious!
There are lots more yummy recipes in Breakfasts… You can find it here…
