Hello, it has been a while! Sorry for not being able to update the blog for a bit.. Too much going on for the past couple of months, house moving and ongoing projects with the business. But I have not forgotten about the retro bees!
So last night, it was raining cats and dogs and I guess it is a good thing considering the pollution does need some cooling. But it definitely made us want something comforting, rustic and warm for dinner. So I thought, what's better than a homemade hearty breakfast? But I always find traditional all day breakfast a bit too greasy for me. So I decided to give it a spin: All day breakfast bake, with lemongrass and thai basil broth.. Oh my, was it heavenly! It was approved by our British boyfriend too. :)
So to make it easy for everyone else to follow, I am gonna simplify the recipe a bit and make your shopping and organizing more convenient:
You will need:
1) Any type of herb sausage (I use chili jalapeno thick sausage): cut in cubes
2) 4-6 pieces of back bacon , cut in smaller pieces (not too small )
3) 1 green pepper , cut in squares
4) 6 shallots, peeled and leave whole (a little trick: chuck the shallots in microwave and heat for 10 seconds, cut both ends and they will peel nicely and beautifully)
5) 2-3 potatoes, cut in chunks evenly
6) 4-6 cups of chicken stock (you can use stock cube and hot water if you do not have fresh one)
7) 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut into short stems
8) a bunch of fresh thai basil
9) 8 tomatoes (preferably with vines attached)
10) 4 eggs
First, boil a kettle of water. Then start the cutting and prepping. Once the water is boiled, place 1/2 chicken stock cube, and here is the next important step: place the lemongrass and thai basil into the stock . Then add 4-6 cups of water. Mix well and leave it on the side.
Next, preheat a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and medium heat and preheat your oven at 180C.
Next fry shallots for 2 minutes, then add the sausages. Let it cook for 7-8 minutes until they are brown.
Now place the bacon and let shallots, sausage and bacon cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure they don't get stuck onto the pan. You can add a couple of tablespoons of dry or chinese wine to add extra flavor. Add pepper to taste. I also added whole peppercorn. DO NOT ADD SALT.
Turn off heat, set aside and take out a casserole dish.
It's time to go back to the stock. Stir and make sure the cube is dissolved completely. By now you should be able to smell the fragrance of lemongrass and basil.
Place potatoes and green pepper in the casserole dish. Then put the shallots,sausages and bacon on top of the potatoes. After that you can slowly pour the chicken stock to cover the potatoes. This is very important because you want the lemongrass and basil flavor to soak into the potatoes. You do not need to fill it up to the top of the dish. Just make sure it covers all the potatoes and if the bacon or sausages are not covered, that's ok, you will just get crispy bacon :) I know, you think it is a lot of hassle but Trust me, it is worth it!
Set the oven for 45 minutes and leave it at 180C and let it cook.
Meanwhile, get the eggs boiled! 10 minutes should do the trick and make sure you put in the eggs with cold water before you start boiling. Once they are done, set aside in a bowl of cold water in room temperature and you can peel them later before serving.
While you wait, you might as well start cleaning up the mess you have made so far!
45 minutes later..
Take out the dish and place the tomatoes in the middle of the dish, gently press them down so they are half covered with the stock. You want the tomatoes to be cooked but not turn the liquid into a tomato broth.
Spin the heat up from 180C to 220C for 20 minutes.
After that, voila you are done!
Use a large serving spoon and scoop a bit of everything in a bowl, slice the egg in half and then pour some broth. Time to serve!
And yes, you will spend less time eating it than cooking it :)
Enjoy!
Here is what it looks like:
Let me know how it turns out for you!
Until next time,
