Vegetarian mains
Potato and mushroom persillade with poached eggs
It may look simple but the key is to remove as much starch and water as you can from the potatoes to get them to brown well. Persillade is a classic French garnish of parsley and garlic. It is brought to life by the heat of the pan at the end, it takes the raw edge away from the garlic and opens up the grassy notes in the parsley. Always add white vinegar to an egg poaching pan, it speeds up the setting of the whites so they can't spread or feather too much.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- handful of flat leaf parsley
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 potatoes
- 200g mushrooms
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Put a saucepan of salted water, with the vinegar added, on to boil. Meanwhile peel and finely chop your garlic clove. On the same board finely chop the parsley leaves. Mix the garlic and the parsley and chop together until well blended.
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Step 2
Wash and peel the potatoes. Grate by hand or in a food processor. Put in the colander and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain and press down in the colander to remove excess water. Slice your mushrooms, not too thinly.
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Step 3
Heat some oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the mushrooms until they start to brown. Remove and keep to one side. Add more oil to the pan and sauté the potato with a little salt and pepper until starting to colour. Add the mushrooms, parsley and garlic to the potatoes in the pan.
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Step 4
Toss on the heat for a few minutes to finish cooking. Taste and season. Turn the heat down on the water and vinegar so it is at a bare simmer.
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Step 5
Gently crack in the eggs. Cook for 3 minutes for a soft but runny yolk. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the eggs. Serve the eggs atop the potatoes and mushrooms.