Samphire with Eggs and Butter
March 2021
Samphire comes from the original name for coastal plants “Saint Pierre” after the patron saint of fishermen. In medieval Britain samphire was used to make soap and burnt to form glass. It’s pleasant salty flavour, texture and availability have made it part of our diet for centuries. It is at its best between June and September.
Ingredients - Serves 2
4 eggs (yes I know you can only see 3 in the photos!)
Knob (10g) butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
200g samphire
My advice is to wash it well and taste it. It will always taste salty but it does differ in strength. If it is mild, it can simply be rinsed and eaten raw in salads or stir fried briefly in butter or olive oil. Trim the woody roots and fibrous stems from the softer green parts.
This samphire was too salty so I decided to blanch it in boiling water poured straight through it from a kettle to get rid of some of the salt.
I plunged it into ice cold water to stop the vibrant green disappearing.
Then it was time to cook, after melting a generous knob of butter with a splash of extra-virgin olive oil into a frying pan I tossed in the samphire. Making three holes with a wooden spoon in the nest of hot, buttered stems I cracked in three eggs. I put on the lid and allowed the eggs to steam inside until just set. Within 5 minutes they were done and ready to eat.
Breakfast is served!
Learn more great recipes by joining us on one of our low carb cookery courses. See HERE for a list of upcoming dates.
