Today – Friday October 13 – is World Egg Day. I’ve had eggs on my mind all week, thanks to Food Writers NZ’s #7dayeggchallenge on Instagram.
We eat a lot of eggs in this household and I’m lucky to have found a great source down at Wellington’s Harbourside Market. Shevington Farm from Ōtaki have one of the most popular stalls at this Sunday market and they regularly sell out of their super-fresh free-range eggs very early (which is why I’m normally there in my sweaty running kit, on my way home from an ungainly jog around the harbour).
Anyway, in the quest to meet all the prompts as part of this Instagram challenge, I came across this blast-from-the-past photo.
I knew I’d taken it while recipe testing for a Three Ways With… column, but I couldn’t remember what the key ingredient was (I knew it wasn’t eggs). By a process of elimination, and much excavation of my not-very-organised filing system, I finally twigged: it was Three Ways With… Filo pastry.
Reading the column made me quite keen to unroll a few sheets of filo pastry, but I might have to wait for World Filo Day (surely that’s every day, in Greece?) to make that happen. In the meantime, here’s the recipe for Breakfast Pies, otherwise known as Eggs In A Nest With Bacon, Mushrooms and Thyme.
BREAKFAST PIES
Makes 6
Since breakfast for dinner is a recognised thing (no news to some of us), these little pies are acceptable at any time of day. You will need a Texas muffin tin for this recipe (op shops often have them).
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 4 sheets filo pastry
- 12 rashers streaky New Zealand bacon, each cut in half
- 2 cups button mushrooms, wiped and sliced
- 6 eggs
- Sprigs of fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper
Heat the oven to 190C and grease six cups of a Texas muffin tin.
Stack one sheet of filo on top of the other – long sides facing you. Brush with a little melted butter and cut into thirds, then cut each third in half so you end up with 12 squares of pastry. Take four squares of pastry and gently push them into a muffin tin. Brush with butter and repeat with all the other squares, then repeat this process with the remaining pastry sheets.
Line each pastry shell with the strips of bacon, letting it poke out the top. Divide the mushrooms and thyme between each shell, then carefully crack an egg on top. Season well and transfer to the preheated oven.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the egg white is just set and the yolk still a little wobbly. Gently remove from the tins and serve. A drizzle of hot sauce or spoonful of spicy chutney is a great addition.