I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again - eggs are one of my favourite foods. They are so versatile.

The two recipes today feature eggs and bacon and are taken from my recent book. Both are a good snack, and maybe a bit more than a snack.

This eggy bread is my version of French toast. You can have it sweet with apple syrup, but I love this savoury version.

I make these quite often at home as everyone loves them

We get our rashers in the restaurant from O’Neills in Enniscorthy. Their dry-cured rashers are excellent.

These ham-scrambled eggs are fluffy and light. I make these quite often at home as everyone loves them. I like to leave the mixture long enough to form large curds.

When buying your pork always look out for the Bord Bia Quality Assured mark.

By coincidence, at the moment, I am preparing to make some videos with Bord Bia to highlight the great work our Irish pork producers are doing. The recipes will be on my social media in a few weeks.

Happy

cooking,

Neven

Learn to Cook with Neven is out now published by Gill Books.

Recipes

Hambled eggs with avocado and tomatoes

Serves two

2 cherry tomato vines

3 tsp rapeseed oil

4 eggs

1 tbsp cream

50g (2oz) cooked ham, shredded

1 ripe avocado

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/ gas mark 5). Put the cherry tomatoes in a baking tin and drizzle with 1 tsp of the oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • 2 Heat a non-stick frying pan over a low heat. Break the eggs into a bowl and add the cream, then season with salt and pepper. Beat lightly with a fork. Add the remaining 2 tsp of oil to the pan and swirl it around.
  • 3 Add the egg mixture and leave to cook for 30 seconds, then stir with a spatula into the centre of the pan so that large curds begin to form. Scatter over the ham and stir every 30 seconds, until almost all the liquid has turned into curds.
  • 4 Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone, then peel and cut into slices. Arrange on plates with the hambled eggs and cherry tomatoes and season with a little more salt and pepper.

    • Eggy bread BLT

    Neven's eggy bread BLT. \ Joanne Murphy

    Serves two

    2 eggs

    1 tbsp milk

    1 small ciabatta loaf

    About 4 tsp rapeseed oil

    2 rindless bacon rashers

    2 tsp mayonnaise

    1 tsp Dijon mustard

    1 tbsp tomato ketchup

    2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

    25g (1oz) Little Gem lettuce leaves

    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 Crack the eggs into a shallow dish. Add the milk, season and beat with a fork. Cut the ciabatta in half lengthwise, then cut in half again across the width. Place cut side down in the egg mixture and leave to soak for 1 minute before turning.
  • 2 Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add half the oil. Add the bases, cut side down, pressing with a metal slice. Cook for 2 minutes, until golden, then turn over and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and repeat with the tops.
  • 3 Meanwhile, preheat the grill. Arrange the bacon on a grill rack and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, until really crispy. Keep warm.
  • 4 Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard. Spread the ketchup on the bases, then add the tomato and season. Top with the lettuce and bacon. Spread the Dijon mayonnaise on the tops of the eggy bread. Sandwich together to serve.