We had a quick dinner at home, during which Matt managed to drink almost all of the bottle of wine we were supposed to share, then headed down to the fan zone to meet a few friends. Matt sang the A-Team theme song the whole way down which was due to a combination of the amount of wine consumed and the fact that the programme briefly came on as we were leaving the house. Seriously, I wish I thought to record him when he's been drinking. He always warned me about "Vodka Matt". Little did I realise there is also Beer Matt, White Wine Matt, and worst of all, Red Wine Matt.
The walk home was even more entertaining, due to the appearance of "Whisky Matt", who decided that hedge diving was in order. Turns out Whisky Matt doesn't learn that hedges aren't very soft.
He rolled over this morning and complained about a hangover. Not the least bit surprised, I pulled the bacon I'd had the foresight yesterday to pick up at the supermarket out of the fridge, and whipped up a little something.
A word on brunches - timing is everything. Try and get as much finished as possible before you start your eggs. They only take a couple of minutes. For this reason, I get a pot of water boiling early on and let it simmer away until I've finished making everything else. Only after everything else is done and in the oven to keep warm do I start my eggs.
Once my eggs are in, I set my timer in two lots - one minute, and then 1 and a half minutes. This way I have a better idea of how long until my eggs are done. The first minute I do a quick clean up and get my plates out. The next minute and a half is for plating up so that my freshly poached egg can go on top as soon as it's ready.
It takes a few tries to get the timing right, and there are times when everything fails abysmally. But even if your eggs are overdone, when you've got bacon and avocado on the plate, everything tastes freaking amazing anyway!
Potato Rosti Stack with Avocado, Bacon and a Poached Egg(serves 2)
1 large potato
1 egg yolk
1T butter, melted
Half a ripe avocado
6 rashers of free range streaky bacon
2 eggs (for poaching)
Start by finely grating the potato sprinkling a little salt over it, and setting to drain in a cheesecloth or clean tea towel. Meanwhile, get a pot of water boiling for your eggs, lay your bacon out on a grill tray, and cut the avocado into slices.
When the potato has sat for about 10 mins, squeeze all the liquid you can out of the buggers. You need to make sure they are as dry as possible, otherwise you'll end up with soggy rosti. And nobody likes soggy rosti.
Once the potato is as dry as possible, pop it in a bowl with the egg yolk, melted butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Form into little patties about 5mm thick (we managed two patties each), and fry on a medium heat with a little oil until golden. Flip and fry the other side. You need to let them fry reasonably slowly to ensure the potato is cooked on the inside. As soon as they are done, pull them off the heat and pop in the oven to keep warm.
While the potato rosti are frying, get your bacon under the grill. As soon as the bacon looks mostly done, turn off the grill. I aim to have the rosti and bacon done at the same time.
As soon as the rosti and bacon are done, turn off the boiling pot of water for the eggs, and slide the eggs into the water to poach. Set your oven timer to 1 minute. Get your plates out, and prep for plating up.
When the timer buzzes (which is always sooner than you think!), set it for 1 and a half more minutes, pull out your rosti and bacon and arrange on the plate. Top with the avocado.
When the timer buzzes for the second time, your eggs should be ready. Gently top your stack with the poached eggs, a crack of pepper and a pinch of salt, and voila!
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