Wednesday 21 May 2014

Random recipes : Potatoes, Okra & Baked Eggs



I always love taking part in Belleau Kitchen's monthly Random Recipe challenge because it's exciting not knowing what you'll end up cooking. This month, the lovely Dom went one step further, taking us even further out of our comfort zone by making us choose a recipe book that has been sitting unloved on the shelf. "Take a long hard look at all your books", he said, "and find the ones (or maybe it's just one) that you REALLY never use... never even look at... or simply don't care for any more and give that blessed book one last chance for survival"... Well, in my case, that book was Stevie Parle's Dock Kitchen Cookbook - Real Home Cooking From Around The World. The recipes just don't sound like the things that would go down well in The Madhouse - Elderflowers in Grappa Butter ? ("Ewww Mum, there's a dead flower on my plate!") Others use too many ingredients that I would never have in the cupboards or fridge - Pigeon with Pomegranates & Walnuts ? Whole John Dory Roast Over Potatoes? Chicken Livers With Seven Spice & Pomegranate Molasses? Thai Grilled Quail ? Hmm, certainly not things I could throw together at a minute's notice.


OK, time to cross my fingers, say a little prayer and open the book at ... page 92 - Potatoes, Okra and Baked Eggs. That actually works really well because I've never cooked with okra in my life but I just happen to have a pack in the freezer that came in a recipe challenge hamper and never got used. Well done Dom - it probably would have still been there this time next year if it wasn't for your challenge !



Potatoes, Okra & Baked Eggs


ingredients :

200g potatoes
salt
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds, ground
2 small hot chillies, crushed
olive oil
200g okra
3 tomatoes, torn up (which begs the question : how do you tear up a tomato?!)
a few sprigs of mint and parsley, roughly chopped
4 eggs

Peel the potatoes , cut into wedges and boil until just soft. Preheat oven to 200°C. (I didn't bother peeling them. That's not just laziness - it all adds fibre and I prefer the texture !)

Meanwhile, fry the onions and garlic, coriander and chillies in olive oil until soft. Cut the stalks from the okra and halve each finger. Add to the onion mixture and continue to fry. Add the tomatoes. Check the potatoes are soft and add them to the pan. Add extra olive oil if it doesn't look glossy enough.


Transfer to a baking tray or ovenproof frying pan and stir in the herbs.

 Break the eggs on top. Bake for a few minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still runny.


Well, I'm astounded to say that the whole family thought this was delicious, with the kids even asking for seconds. I tweaked the recipe slightly, adding bacon and omitting the chilli and coriander (but adding some ground cumin and Spanish seasoning instead), so that it was kid-friendly and not spicy. The okra has a very mild flavour like courgettes. I did overcook the eggs though - by the time the white was set, the yolks had gone hard too, which was a shame - not sure how I could remedy that so let me know if you have a way round it !

If you want to join in with the Random Recipe challenge, head over to Belleau Kitchen. You've got until the 29th May for this month's challenge.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Madhouse recipe : Lychee, Rose & Dried Cherry Yogurt Muffins

#ReadCookEat recipe : Lemon scones (inspired by Above All Things by Tanis Rideout)

6 comments:

  1. well i've got to say that this is possibly one of the most wonderful looking meals i've seen from a random recipes... I love everything about it and agree that you totally struck lucky!... thank you so much for the brilliant entry and i'm so glad everyone enjoyed it and that you're having fun playing along xx

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    1. wow, that's high praise indeed - seriously though, I was lucky - I really didn't fancy some of the other recipes in the book !

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  2. I love okra, cooked it just the other day with yogurt and spices. This is a wonderful recipe, all my favourite flavours. Though I must say all the recipes that you mentioned in the post sound good (you can buy wild pigeon & quail in Waitrose, if you ever fancy trying them) ;)

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    1. LOL It just goes to show that you're more adventurous than me !! I have actually eaten quail once, at a wedding - I felt bad because it looked like a budgie !!

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  3. that looks really nice, I've never cooked with okra before but this recipe seems really simple to make as well as interesting

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    Replies
    1. I don't know why but I was expecting it to be bitter - it's actually very mild and quite bland, a bit like courgettes

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