First came the egg

Like most things in life whether mammal, reptile, bird or fish, indeed our very own humble human life, it all began with a an egg. This beautiful, glorious and sometimes controversial (Edwina Currie, remember that) elliptical form that we take for granted, is our basic food stuff. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, pasta, soufflé, bread and pastry, meringues and even drinks, it appears everywhere and is a staple of most family larders. A late night omelette with bacon and loads of parsley is simply divine and who could forget a classic egg sarnie, creamy chunks of egg and crisp peppery watercress. So it occurred to me that this was a good place to start.

I was inspired just this week by my sons jubilant return from a visit to his grandparents who had taught him to boil an egg. Whilst quite an accomplished foodie for his meagre 12 years, the knowledge instilled and his enthusiasm for this simple process reminded me of where my own culinary journey began some forty years ago, in a very similar way, under the guidance of my mother, I too boiled my first egg. Since then I have used eggs in so many different, diverse and interesting ways but I would still hazard a guess that for most of us, as young children , propped up at the kitchen table on a weekend morning, that an egg was the very first ingredient we were able ( according to our parents ) to safely cook. Guaranteed results, in one form or another, and generally liked by all. Fried, poached, boiled or scrambled, served with warm toast and deliciously melting butter, a dash of ketchup, et voila, the first meal you ever cooked.

Food is part of my life. Although it's not my full-time career (yet) I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking of, reading about, shopping for, preparing and cooking food. I am a photographer by trade, I work in travel and advertising and vicariously through my travels I have come into contact and been inspired by foods from all over the world. My own culinary background is that of a north London Jewish family,I grew up through the sixties and seventies, a period when British food was still in an embryonic state, the Eighties were my first real encounters and since then I have been obsessed. My mother, father and two brothers, all very accomplished cooks, are always engaged in conversations of food, what they are eating, what they have just eaten or what they are about to eat. So in this blog i thought that's what I would talk about, where i get my food from, how i prepare it, cook it and to be quite frank (I'll spare you the gory details though) how I eat it. I'll throw in a few stories of travels, photography, inspirations, family, friends and hopefully you ( the reader ) will feel some of the same level of excitement, inspiration, satisfaction and quite possibly in the process gain insights and knowledge too. I hope so.

The shell has now well and truly been cracked ... scroll down to see some recipes and photographs of a few of my favourite eggy delights.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Hollandaise Sauce

In terms of sauces, and there are many excellent ones and varieties, for me however there can surely be no more richer, more luxurious, silky, delicate a sauce than hollandaise. When made to perfection it's a sheer joy to eat, making it perfectly is a complete satisfaction.

I have been making this sauce for a very long time and in so doing have learnt that there are a handful of methods that work well, whilst all vary slightly in terms of ingredient or technique: there is the traditional, original and precise Elizabeth David method and there is the modern, quick fix blender method, either way the end result has often not been quite what I wanted. This one is pure genius, is easy, produces a light frothy sauce, works every time and will have you picking up fronds of Broccoli plunging them deep into the sauce and devouring platefuls of the stuff, smacking of lips and licking of fingers will confirm that this dish is a delight.

For the sauce

• 150g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp tarragon vinegar
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• sea salt
• a twist of pepper
• 1 tbsp cold water

Gently melt the butter in a pan and then remove from the heat. Put the egg yolks a tablespoon of cold water into a bowl that fits on top of another pan of very gently simmering water ( a bain marie ) and whisk the yolks with an electric blender until light frothy and just starting to thicken. Remove bowl to the side and continue whisking for a minute and then very slowly start to pour the melted butter into the eggs, a drizzle at a time whilst continuing to whisk. A couple of points here: pour the butter very gently you want the butter oil not the milky solids that have sunk to the bottom of the pan. If the sauce splits, unlikely if you're careful, just trickle in some cold water to bring it back together. When all the butter is incorporated you will have a creamy sauce, bright in colour and shiny and slick. Now season with a little salt and pepper, add the vinegar and the lemon juice to taste. You could at this stage add some fresh herbs to enhance your sauce, fresh mint, fresh tarragon for example.

I have discovered that this sauce will keep quite nicely for a few hours in a very gently warm bain marie. Refresh the heat every now and again and occasionally stir the sauce to stop it forming a skin, if the sauce gets thick add some cold water, a teaspoon at a time and whisk gently to loosen it up.

Chocolate & Orange Zest Soufflé

There seems to be an almost mystical unnerving fear of soufflés. We have all watched TV contestant after contestant serve dishes of collapsed goo to their judges and this has instilled a dread of the soufflé. I will concur that they might not be the easiest dessert to produce the first time around , but apply a little bit of logic, a degree of scientific thought and you'll have these gorgeous little soufflés popping out the oven like there's no tomorrow. There are a thousand flavour variations , raspberry, rhubarb, strawberry, vanilla, ginger & honey, but these chocolate ones are a real show stopper at any dinner. Served as shown dusted with icing sugar or sprinkled with chocolate gratings which melt onto the surface for that extra degree of indulgence.

The trick , in my opinion, is getting the ramekins greased properly and getting the oven temperature right. The ramekins need to be brushed with soft butter making sure both the bottom and the sides are fully coated. I use a pastry brush, brushing vertical lines of butter up the insides of the ramekins, then cool in the fridge for a while, re-apply the butter again and then dust the insides with finely grated chocolate, return to the fridge until needed. The grooves of butter and the chocolate lining are going to help the soufflé rise smoothly and evenly up and out of the ramekin. The oven setting is also crucial , you'll have to experiment on this one a little. In most recipes a temperature of 180 degrees is recommended, maybe it's my oven, maybe not, but i find a temperature of 200 degrees to be optimum. This rises the soufflés in about 8 mins and forms a slight crust-like top which helps to support the soufflé when out of the oven and prevents unsightly and premature collapse .

Makes enough for about 8 ( 100ml , 90mm diameter ramekins )

• 200 ml milk
• 20g corn flour
• 100g 70% cocoa chocolate
• 4 eggs, separated
• 150g caster sugar
• tsp orange zest
• 30g butter
• icing sugar to dust

Mix the milk and cornflour together in a pan and place over a medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks , when smoothly incorporated mix in the chocolate , orange zest and return to a gentle heat until all the chocolate is thoroughly melted into the mixture and it's thick and smooth. Allow to cool whilst you beat the egg whites and sugar into soft peaking meringue. Stir about half the meringue into the chocolate mixture and mix well with a metal spoon so as not to knock the air and lightness out of it, then add the rest of the meringue and mix gently and thoroughly. Fill the buttered and dusted ramekins to within 5mm of the top and clean around the top edge so there is nothing to restrict the soufflé from rising. Place the ramekins on a tray and into in the oven, watch them rise for about 8 mins, they should still have a 'wobble' to them, remove and serve immediately to intrigued and delighted guests.