Baked eggs and rocket with chilli and yoghurt (June 2010)

I stumbled across this dish on returning from my morel hunting in Turkey. One of our wonderful hosts, Ali, gave us all a kilo of home-grown paprika as we left. It is extraordinarily good - both sweet and hot at the same time (it is available in Turkish delis as 'kirmizi biber'), but at any rate it works perfectly in this seasonal dish which uses a range of late spring foods and tastes . . .

600g Rocket (or nettle tops, spinach, wild garlic, watercress . . . or a mixture according to taste)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
150g Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic (crushed)
50g butter
½ tsp kirmizi biber (crushed, oiled and roasted chillis)
6 sage leaves

• Preheat the oven to 150C/gas mark 3. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the greens until wilted.
• Line a heatproof dish with the greens and make four depressions. Break an egg into each and bake for 10 minutes until eggs are set.
• Meanwhile, whisk the garlic into the yoghurt and set aside. Then melt the butter, fry the kirmizi biber until the butter starts to foam. Add the shredded sage leaves and cook for a few more seconds.
• When the eggs are cooked, spoon first the yoghurt, then the butter/chilli/sage over the top and serve immediately. 

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Mushroom Newsletter (10 May 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (13 April 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (2 July 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (23 January 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (29 July 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (4 June 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter (8 November)
Mushroom Newsletter (9 December 2009)
Mushroom Newsletter (Chanterelles - July 2010)
Mushroom Newsletter 3 June
Newsletter (1 November)
Newsletter (12 September 2009)
Newsletter (20 October 2009)
Newsletter (28 September 2009)
Newsletter (6 October)
Newsletter (September)
Newsletter 11 August
Newsletter 13 January 2009
Newsletter 20 April 2009
Newsletter 20 May 2009
Newsletter 3 March 2009
Newsletter 4 July
Newsletter Porcini (August 2010)

Wild Food

Our ancestors relied on wild food from the fields and woods, great great grandfathers were transported for helping themselves, while Mabey, Mears and Fearnley-Whittingstall have introduced a new generation to its charms. So what free delicacies are available now?

Alexanders
Birch Sap Wine
Chanterelles
Chestnut
Cockles
Elderberries
Hairy Bittercress
Hogweed
Hops (March 2010)
Morel
Pennywort
Ramsoms (May 2010)
Red-legged partridge
Seaweed (August 2010)
Signal Crayfish
Silver Birch
Sloe
St Georges (April 2010)
Stinging Nettles
Wild strawberries

Wildlife Profile

Britain is blessed with a rich and varied fauna - what seasonal highlights are visible now?

Badger
Barn Owl
Bats
Brown Hare
Butterflies
Fieldfares
Frog
Garden Warbler
Great spotted woodpecker
Hedgehogs
Jay
Kingfisher
Midges (August 2010)
Mistle Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Moths (July 2010)
Nightjar
Nuthatch (June 2010)
Partridge
Redstart
Roe Deer
Spiders
Tawny Owl
The Goshawk

Recipes

Just as we Britons have lost any mushroom lore we might once have possessed, so most of us are at a loss when we finally venture into the kitchen with our haul. In reality, however, mushrooms are one of the easiest things to work with. They have such fantastic flavours, the general rule is to not to mask these with complicated recipes. Most should be cooked, particularly the first time, because they can be indigestible, but otherwise, simple is usually best . . .

Baked eggs and rocket with chilli and yoghurt (June 2010)
Chanterelle and Feta Quiche
Chanterelles a la forestiere
Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Chicken-of-the-Woods Satay
Elderflower Cordial
Grilled Cepes
Jew's Ear on Pasta
Morel Fondue
Morel Stroganoff (March 2010)
Parasol Tempura
Pearl Barley and Wild Mushroom Risotto
Shaggy Ink Cap Soup
St Georges Vol-au-Vents
Thai Mushroom Soup
Venison and Blewit Casserole
Wild Mushroom and Nut Pate
Wild mushroom soup