She was a MasterChef quarter finalist and now Bury St Edmunds' own Hannah Gregory shares a tasty brunch idea for the weekend
I have curated these recipes focusing on things I think we are all missing at the moment – be it date night or Sunday brunch. My key focus has been thinking about ingredients that we all have lingering at the back of a cupboard, freezer or in the bottom of the veg drawer. The important thing is that the key elements can be substituted so they work for you.
Before we get started, there are a few things I would like to mention that I think are imperative to a successful cook.
Prep is just as important as the meal itself. Cooking should be a joy, not a stress. I was once told by a wise lady ‘You should always cook with love or you will be able to taste the bad vibes in your food’. I thought she was mad, but she was right. Every time I have cooked angry or upset, something has gone wrong – whether it was burnt food or cut fingers or just a very underwhelming meal. Take your time, pour a drink, put on some music and enjoy the process.
Your final meal is only as good as your ingredients. Wherever you can, try to shop local and organic. Food miles and mass produced ingredients are as bad for you as they are the local economy and the environment. We are so lucky in Suffolk to have a wealth of independent amazing local suppliers on our doorstep – let’s make the most of them!
Drink: I firmly believe that a great cook is supported by a great tipple. Pairing suggestions are included in all my recipes but I will go as far as to say these should also be paired with the cooking process, not just the meal.
Music: “If music be the food of love, play on.” I honestly believe music is the secret ingredient to the world’s best food. Cook with it, eat with it, have a dance around the kitchen with it. Specially-curated playlists can be found on WanderSups Spotify, just search for WanderSups and you will find all of them ready for your listening/cooking/eating pleasure – each are titled to correspond with the recipes.
One of the things I am really missing at the moment is going out for Sunday brunch (first world problems, I know). It is a ritual my partner and I adopted – every Sunday we would go out and have brunch somewhere, nothing fancy, but it was just a nice thing to do before Sunday life admin.
I have put together a recipe that means you can recreate the perfect Boujee Brunch at home. I strongly recommend serving it with the WanderSups Bloody Mary – named due to the fact that these are mandatory the morning after a WanderSups event. The great thing about lockdown? You can serve this anytime you want because no one has a clue what day it is!
BOUJEE BRUNCH (Serves 2)
Corn & chorizo fritters/patatas bravas/poached eggs, avo & feta & The WanderSups Bloody Mary
Spotify playlist: Boujee Brunch
Ingredients:
30g butter
200g chorizo
90g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of sugar
225g tinned or frozen (and defrosted) sweetcorn
1 egg & 1 egg yolk
50ml full fat milk
1 spring onion
A small handful of coriander
2 tsp hot chilli sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
Pinch of smoked paprika
400g can of cherry tomatoes (if you can’t find cherry, chopped will do the trick)
1 avocado
Swig of white wine vinegar
Chilli flakes
30g feta
2 eggs
Method:
First up, make your batter for the fritters – dice your chorizo into 1cm squares, put half of it to the side. Heat a third of the butter in a frying pan and cook the remaining chorizo.
In a big bowl, sieve your flour and add in your baking powder and sugar.
In a jug, mix your eggs, chilli sauce, half you milk and half your corn.
Finely slice your spring onion and coriander.
Make a well in the centre of your bowl of flour and slowly pour in the batter – whisk, incorporating all your dry ingredients. Gradually add the rest of your milk to achieve the desired consistency which should be easily dropping off the spoon. Fold in your cooked chorizo, remaining corn, spring onion and coriander and season to taste. Set aside.
Tatty time – finely dice your onion and slice your garlic.
Heat 1tbsp of oil oil in a small saucepan and add your onion, garlic, paprika and fry until soft.
Add your tin tomatoes and simmer for 20minutes – throw in a pinch of sugar to balance out the tomatoes.
Pop your potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Let the potatoes bubble away (about 6 mins) until tender but holding their shape, drain in a colander and leave to steam dry.
Chop your potatoes into bite-size squares.
Get a pan of water on to heat up and chuck in a swig of white wine vinegar ready to poach your eggs.
Heat a large frying pan and add your chorizo until it starts to ooze its lovely juices and then throw in your potatoes and coat them in the orange oil. Leave to fry so you get some nice crusty bits on your tattys. Once they are all gnarly, throw into your tomato sauce and keep warm on a low heat.
Back to the fritters – heat your remaining butter in a frying pan and drop a large spoon of batter into the pan. If you want to be really cheffy about it, you can use a chef ring in the pan and drop the batter inside the ring so they come out perfectly round – but let’s be real, who has time for that? Make sure you cook your fritters in batches and ensure they don’t touch in the pan. Fry for 2 mins on each side until golden brown.
Whilst the fritters are doing their thing – poach your eggs. I think everyone has their own way to poach eggs, my foolproof way – vinegared water (to keep the whites together) to a healthy simmer, swirl with a metal spoon to create a whirlpool effect, crack and egg into a cup (not the pan) and then pour from the cup to the pan to ensure one smooth movement. I also cook my eggs one at a time or it just all gets a bit stressful.
Once everything is cooked, bring it all together by spooning the potatoes onto a plate, placing two fritters on top and topping with an egg. Serve with sliced avocado covered in crumbled feta and then a sprinkling of chilli flakes across the whole dish. And FYI if you don’t post your perfect oozy egg yolk on Instagram, it doesn’t count.
WANDERSUPS BLOODY MARY
Serves
Ingredients:
100ml vodka
500ml spiced tomato juice
Worcestershire sauce to taste
1 tbsp siracha
Chilli sauce to taste such as Tobasco or Cholula
Maldon salt
Black pepper
Pinch of chilli flakes
Fresh lemon
Pinch of celery salt
1 stick of celery
Ice cubes
Method:
Put a handful of ice cubes in the bottom of a glass.
Throw in 50ml of vodka per person and top up with the tomato juice.
Add in your liquid spicing to taste – sriracha, hot sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and a good squeeze of lemon.
Cut your celery stick in half and use it to stir everything thoroughly, then leave your celery in as your garnish.
Lightly powder the top of your drink with the salt flakes, black pepper, celery salt and chilli flakes. Taste and adjust as needed.
Sit back, enjoy and tell yourself how wonderful you are.
Find out about Hannah’s upcoming Supper Clubs and what she is currently cooking via Instagram @WanderSups
