Breakfast Mushroom
I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who doesn’t love a ‘Full English’ and with Fathers’ Day looming you might be thinking of clogging up the arteries of the dad in your life. Whilst it can be a wonderful thing to eat, it’s ‘proper’ cooking which feels bit gruelling when done horribly early in the morning, creates masses of washing up and isn’t child friendly.
So, now I’ve talked you out of it, here’s my solution.
My ‘Breakfast Mushroom’ gives you most of the elements of a full English breakfast, but you can do all of the preparation the day before and get even young children helping.
You need large flat mushrooms – the bigger the better. Good quality streaky bacon – smoked or unsmoked. Great breakfast sausages. And, when cooking for my boys, black pudding. They love it.
Black pudding has been made for centuries and is actually very good for you – protein, iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium. By the time I got around to telling my boys it was a blood sausage they were already converts. Liddy, however, doesn’t like it. So, if it’s really not going to be your thing, crumbled blue cheese is also lovely.
These are big saucer style mushrooms and benefit from being peeled. Don’t wash them. Simply brush off any dirt.
Remove the stalk. (Both the ‘peelings’ and the stalks can used for stock.)
Black pudding freezes well. Cut off what you’re going to use and remove the casing. What’s left can be double wrapped and tucked away in the freezer for another day.
Cut into cubes and encourage into crumbs. Divide the black pudding between the mushrooms.
There really isn’t a way of making the next part photogenic. Remove the sausage-meat from the casings. Roughly one sausage per mushroom. Mix together with a fork. It’s a much nicer texture if you don’t compact it down into a heavy lump.
Form into patties and place on top of the black pudding (or cheese if that’s what you’ve decided).
Ease the meat to the edges of the mushrooms.
Now it’s the streaky bacon. You could lay bacon very simply across the top, but making a lattice looks pretty. Cut each strip in half.
So, that’s three rashers of bacon, cut in half.
Lay three on top of the sausage-meat.
Lift up the central strip.
Place another bacon strip across horizontally and replace the central strip into position. Then fold back the two outside strips and lay the fifth bacon strip across horizontally, returning the folded back strips back into place.
Finally, the central strip is folded back and the final piece of bacon placed horizontally.
Tuck the ends underneath the mushroom and place on a baking sheet.
And on to the next one …
Cover with cling film and pop into the fridge. They’ll happily keep overnight.
Even the earliest breakfast doesn’t feel much work now. I like to have that first all-important cup of tea and, while that’s happening, I take my Breakfast Mushrooms out of the fridge and let everything return to room temperature.
Tomatoes can be cooked on the same tray. Depending on their size you may have to remove them a little before the Breakfast Mushrooms. Mine took 30 minutes in a hot oven (Aga Roasting Oven – 2nd set of runners).
Conventionally, 200ºC/Gas Mark 6/400ºF for 30 minutes.
Coffee on! I cook my eggs without oil on a piece of bake ‘o glide on the Simmering Plate. (For a party trick, you can close the lid. Always shocks everyone .. and you end up with a ‘sunny-side down’ effect.)
Eat.
Breakfast Mushroom
Serves 1 – easily multiplied
- 1 large flat mushroom
- slice of black pudding
- 1 breakfast sausage
- 3 rashers of streaky bacon
Brush the mushroom free of any dirt, peel and de-stalk. Crumble black pudding over the gills.
Remove the sausage-meat from its casing and break up with a fork. Form into a loose patty and place on top of the black pudding. Ease the meat across to the edge of the mushroom.
Cut each slice of streaky bacon in half and arrange all six strips in a lattice effect over the top of the sausage-meat. Tuck the ends under and place on a baking sheet.
Cover with cling film and place in the fridge until needed.
To cook: Allow everything to return to room temperature and pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6/400ºF. Cook for 30 minutes. Aga: Roasting Oven on 2nd set of runners for 30 minutes.
Serve with fried egg and roasted tomatoes. Eat.