Eggcellent

A friend of mine recently expressed his frustration at being unable to cook an edible poached egg. I must admit, poaching is probably the most difficult form of egg cookery to master. Most amateurs end up with something that resembles little more than hardened yolk with most of the egg white disintegrating in the water, which ends up looking like 'egg soup'. The secret (apart from using an egg poacher) is to protect the egg from the water. There is no white wine vinegar, whisks, swirling or any other convoluted method you may have read about in other recipe books. All you will require is a mug and some cling film.

To make the perfect poached egg, line the inside of a normal sized mug with a sheet of cling film. Break the egg into the cup then lift out the cling film and egg, scrunching it at the top so it forms a parcel. It should resemble something like a goldfish bag that you would see at a funfair. Place the egg parcel into a pan of simmering hot water, making sure that the scrunched part is hanging outside of the pan. Let this simmer for approximately 3-4 minutes. As ever, it will require your own judgement as to when the egg is cooked to your liking. When ready, lift the parcel out, unwrap and carefully slide onto a slice of buttered toast. This method avoids the sometimes rubbery texture you often find when using purpose made poacher. I guarantee there is no better way of cooking an egg.

Hernandez's Haute Cuisine # 3

I think I raised the barrier to new heights this evening with a quite simply sublime madras curry. For this dish you will require:

1 chicken breast

1 onion (diced)

1 clove of garlic (crushed)

1 tin coconut milk

cumin powder

tumeric powder

fresh coriander

baby spinach leaves

ground fenugreek

curry paste

lime

rice to serve

First of all seal the chicken by frying in a little olive oil. Add the onion and cook until soft and slightly caramelised. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute (take care that the garlic does not burn). Next, coat this mixture with a tablespoon each of the cumin, tumeric and fenugreek. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then add roughly a tablespoon of the curry paste. You can use whatever variety you wish - I like my curries fairly hot but not overpowering so I used Madras paste on this occasion. I should note that using paste may be seen by some as cheating, but since I am not a Michelin star chef (yet) I see no harm in taking this minor shortcut. Let this mixture simmer for around 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently. When almost done, add in the coriander and spinach leaves and simmer for another 2 minutes. It should then be ready to serve with some basmati or Thai fragrant rice, a wedge of lime, some naan bread and a nice cold glass of beer. Fantastic!

Hernandez's Haute Cuisine

Potatoes are one of Mother Earth's most versatile edible gifts. I love few things more than a nice big steaming, creamy pile of mash. The beauty of mashed potato is that making it is easy, fun and flexible. For the perfect mash, boil some floury potatoes such as King Edwards or Maris Piper until tender - usually about 20 minues (test with a knife). Drain, peel and mash, then add a large knob of unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche, one tablespoon of dijon mustard and a liberal amount of chopped flat leaf parsley. Season with 4 or 5 scrunches of black pepper (salt should not be necessary) and mix the hell out of it until smooth and creamy. Your mash should slowly slide of the spoon when held vertically. Perfect with a couple of thick butchers pork sausages :-)