Anna Jones - A Modern Way to Eat

juice of ½ a lime

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.

Lay the sweet potato slices on a couple of baking trays, season with salt and pepper, drizzle lightly with oil and roast for 20 minutes, until soft through and crisping at the edges.

Now on to the onions. Put a pan on a medium heat, add a little oil, then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft and sweet and starting to brown. Scoop them into a bowl and set to one side, keeping the pan to use later.

To make your hollandaise, blitz the drained cashews in a food processor until you have a crumbly paste. Add the avocado and most of the tarragon or dill with the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper and blitz again. If you need to, loosen the sauce with a little water until it is thick but drizzleable.

Heat the pan you cooked the onions in on a medium heat. Add the spinach and a drop of olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes, until it starts to wilt but is still vivid green.

Next, poach the eggs. Heat a pan of water until boiling – I use a frying pan, but use whatever pan is most comfortable for you to poach eggs in. Turn the heat down until the water is barely blipping, then crack in the eggs and leave them to cook for 3–4 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper.

To serve, lay some of the sweet potatoes in the middle of each plate. Top with the onions and wilted spinach, then add the egg and a spoonful of hollandaise. Scatter over the rest of the tarragon or dill, season with salt and pepper and dig in.

Other ways to use your quick avocado hollandaise:

· Spooned over griddled asparagus.

· On top of a green spring risotto.

· On top of little smashed-pea toasts.

· Next to a simple poached egg on toast.

· In sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.

Huevos rancheros

I make this dish a lot. It’s the one thing I order without fail at breakfast tables in America. The holy trio of eggs, tomatoes and avocado never fails me. It mostly crops up at my house mid-morning on a Saturday, after a walk to the shop for the paper.

I have kept this version super-simple, as it’s a great thing to be able to throw together in a few minutes without having to dash to the shop. I use spring onions, as they are quick to cook and have a milder note, more suited to the morning I think, but they can just as easily be swapped for thinly sliced red onion. I use fresh tomatoes in the summer, but good-quality tinned ones work for the rest of the year.

The key here is cooking the eggs perfectly. I have tried a few different ways of getting just-set white and runny yolk perfection. The trick that works for me is using a frying pan with a lid and keeping the heat low so that the eggs poach and steam at the same time. I also make a version of this with roasted peppers or slices of smoked tofu instead of the eggs.

It’s really worth investing as much as you can in the eggs you buy. I always buy organic free-range. Eggs are nutrient-loaded, perfectly packaged bundles of goodness. The yolks contain all the vitamins and minerals, and by keeping them runny you actually preserve the nutrients that would be killed off by the heat if you were to cook them all the way through.

SERVES 2 AS A HEARTY BRUNCH

olive oil

4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika

1 × 400g tin of tomatoes, or 400g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 ripe avocado

juice of 1 lime

a small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and finely chopped

4 organic or free-range eggs

2 wholemeal or corn tortillas

Heat a splash of olive oil in a medium frying pan (one with a lid that fits) over a moderate heat. Add the spring onions and garlic and fry for 5 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and the smoked paprika and cook for another couple of minutes.

Next, add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, until they have broken down and the sauce has thickened.

In the meantime, mash the avocado with the lime juice (I use a potato masher) and the chopped coriander, season with salt and pepper and put to one side.

Once the tomatoes have broken down and thickened, turn the heat down to medium-low. Make 4 small holes in the sauce with the back of a wooden spoon by pushing the sauce out of the way. Crack an egg into each of the holes, season each egg with a little salt and pepper, then pop the lid on and leave to cook for exactly 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes the egg whites should be just set with a hint of a wobble, with the yolks runny in the middle. Remember, they will keep cooking as you take them to the table.

While the eggs are cooking, warm the tortillas – I do this by holding each one over a gas flame with a pair of tongs for a few seconds on each side to char, but 20–30 seconds on each side in a warm non-stick pan will work just as well.

Once the eggs are ready, pile them on to a plate with a decent helping of the spicy tomatoes and some mashed avocado, and scoop up with the charred tortillas.

Lemon ricotta cloud pancakes

Whenever I go out for breakfast I order pancakes. This is my version of the pancakes I had at Gjelina in LA, which were quite simply the best pancakes I have ever eaten.

Chestnut flour makes an appearance here – you can get it in most wholefood shops. It adds a depth and warmth to the flavour and is naturally gluten-free; however, the pancakes would work with just plain flour. Any leftover chestnut flour can be used in cakes and baking (I use a 50/50 mix of chestnut and plain flour) and works wonderfully in place of ground almonds for a deeper, almost caramelly taste. Try it in the chocolate cake here and see here for more information on it.

SERVES 4 (MAKES 8–10 PANCAKES)

250g ricotta cheese

75g plain white or light spelt flour

50g chestnut flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

a good pinch of salt

2 organic or free-range eggs, separated

2 tablespoons golden caster sugar

200ml milk (I use almond milk but normal milk works fine too)

grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

grated zest of ½ an unwaxed orange

butter or coconut oil, for frying

optional: lemon juice

SERVE WITH SEASONAL FRUIT

Spring • quick stewed rhubarb

Summer • raspberries mashed with lemon juice

Autumn • blueberries smashed up with a little maple syrup

Winter • quick sautéed apples and honey

First put the ricotta into a sieve and leave it over a bowl for 10 minutes or so to allow the liquid to drain off.

Meanwhile, mix the flours, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy, then add the sugar and whisk until you have stiff meringue-like peaks. In a jug, whisk the egg yolks with the milk. Add to the flour mixture bit by bit and beat until smooth, then add the lemon and orange zest.

Using a spatula or metal spoon, gently fold half the egg whites into the flour and egg mixture. Now fold in the ricotta, then the rest of the egg whites – you should have a light and fluffy batter.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan on a low heat and add a tiny bit of butter or oil. Working in batches, and using about half a ladleful for each pancake, cook until the bottom is golden and the edges are cooked. Once bubbles have risen to the top, flip and cook on the other side for a minute – then keep warm while you cook the rest. Stack the pancakes high on your plate, with seasonal fruit spooned over and a squeeze of lemon juice, if you like.