Valentine Warner makes a Loafing good brekka...
Posted 13 March 2013
We love sharing stories of passionate and like-minded people with you and this week it's Valentine Warner.
I first met Val about 15 years ago when we toyed with the idea
of launching a food company together. We spent two weeks knocking
around each other's kitchens making various concoctions before I
realised he was a lot more gifted than me in that department. So it
comes as no surprise that he is rocking the food world now - he's
got a new television series Country Show Cook
Off that started this week on BBC2 and a book out in
autumn.
I reckon Val's success is down to the fact that he believes in a
real understanding of ingredients and the producers involved
contribute as much to the plate as the cooking itself - a bit like
us with our wood and soft furnishings.
So this week we've got another scrummy Breakfast in Bed recipe for
your binders - Eggs Florentine (done his mother's way). Happy
munching.
Ingredients
Serves 2
a capful of red or white wine vinegar
4 free-range eggs
350g chard, with not too much white stalk
1 tablespoon olive oil
flaked sea salt and black pepper
a grating of nutmeg
For the cheese sauce
40g butter, plus extra for greasing
40g plain flour
450ml whole milk
50g Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving
flaked sea salt and black pepper
a grating of nutmeg
Fill a large saucepan with water and heat to a good simmer. Add the
vinegar and let it come to a simmer again. Stir the water and, in
quick succession, crack each of the eggs into the vortex, keeping
the whites separate with a spoon, if necessary. You may want to do
this in two batches. Cook the eggs for 2-3 minutes while they ghost
around. Fill a bowl with cold water and when the eggs are done,
transfer them with a slotted spoon to the cold bath.
To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a
medium-low heat and, when foaming, add the flour and incorporate
with a whisk. After 30 seconds, start dribbling in the milk, which
will automatically clag up. Don't worry, just keep on stirring and
adding the milk. The sauce will loosen and behave. When all the
milk is added, bring the sauce to a gentle bubble. Stir in the
grated Parmesan and season with salt, black pepper and a little
grated nutmeg. Cook gently for a further 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally then turn off the heat. Set aside.
Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Strip the chard leaves
from the stalks and tear them up roughly. Slice a little of the
stalk up, but don't use it all (keep the rest for soups or frying
with breadcrumbs, garlic, bacon and lemon zest). Heat the oil in a
saucepan. Rinse the chopped chard - the water droplets will help it
to cook without burning. Fry it until it collapses. If it starts to
singe, splash in a few more drops of water. When done (5 minutes or
so), take off the heat and press out as much water as possible with
the back of a spoon. This is important, as you don't want water
leaking into the sauce. Toss with a little salt and a grinding of
black pepper.
Warm the cheese sauce, if tepid, and grease two gratin dishes or
ovenproof soup plates. Divide the chard in half and make it into a
nest around the bottom of each dish. Use a slotted spoon to remove
each egg from the water and briefly put the spoon on a kitchen
cloth to absorb the drips. Place two eggs in the middle of each
chard nest. Divide the sauce over the eggs, making sure it covers
the chard too, so that it does not burn under the grill. Grate
extra Parmesan over the top of each dish and add a final grinding
of black pepper. Grill for 6 minutes, or until the top is browned
and bubbling. Eat immediately, but be careful not to burn your
lips.
We love sharing stories of passionate and like-minded people with you and this week it's Valentine Warner.
I first met Val about 15 years ago when we toyed with the idea
of launching a food company together. We spent two weeks knocking
around each other's kitchens making various concoctions before I
realised he was a lot more gifted than me in that department. So it
comes as no surprise that he is rocking the food world now - he's
got a new television series Country Show Cook
Off that started this week on BBC2 and a book out in
autumn.
I reckon Val's success is down to the fact that he believes in a
real understanding of ingredients and the producers involved
contribute as much to the plate as the cooking itself - a bit like
us with our wood and soft furnishings.
So this week we've got another scrummy Breakfast in Bed recipe for
your binders - Eggs Florentine (done his mother's way). Happy
munching.
Ingredients
Serves 2
a capful of red or white wine vinegar
4 free-range eggs
350g chard, with not too much white stalk
1 tablespoon olive oil
flaked sea salt and black pepper
a grating of nutmeg
For the cheese sauce
40g butter, plus extra for greasing
40g plain flour
450ml whole milk
50g Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving
flaked sea salt and black pepper
a grating of nutmeg
Fill a large saucepan with water and heat to a good simmer. Add the
vinegar and let it come to a simmer again. Stir the water and, in
quick succession, crack each of the eggs into the vortex, keeping
the whites separate with a spoon, if necessary. You may want to do
this in two batches. Cook the eggs for 2-3 minutes while they ghost
around. Fill a bowl with cold water and when the eggs are done,
transfer them with a slotted spoon to the cold bath.
To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a
medium-low heat and, when foaming, add the flour and incorporate
with a whisk. After 30 seconds, start dribbling in the milk, which
will automatically clag up. Don't worry, just keep on stirring and
adding the milk. The sauce will loosen and behave. When all the
milk is added, bring the sauce to a gentle bubble. Stir in the
grated Parmesan and season with salt, black pepper and a little
grated nutmeg. Cook gently for a further 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally then turn off the heat. Set aside.
Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Strip the chard leaves
from the stalks and tear them up roughly. Slice a little of the
stalk up, but don't use it all (keep the rest for soups or frying
with breadcrumbs, garlic, bacon and lemon zest). Heat the oil in a
saucepan. Rinse the chopped chard - the water droplets will help it
to cook without burning. Fry it until it collapses. If it starts to
singe, splash in a few more drops of water. When done (5 minutes or
so), take off the heat and press out as much water as possible with
the back of a spoon. This is important, as you don't want water
leaking into the sauce. Toss with a little salt and a grinding of
black pepper.
Warm the cheese sauce, if tepid, and grease two gratin dishes or
ovenproof soup plates. Divide the chard in half and make it into a
nest around the bottom of each dish. Use a slotted spoon to remove
each egg from the water and briefly put the spoon on a kitchen
cloth to absorb the drips. Place two eggs in the middle of each
chard nest. Divide the sauce over the eggs, making sure it covers
the chard too, so that it does not burn under the grill. Grate
extra Parmesan over the top of each dish and add a final grinding
of black pepper. Grill for 6 minutes, or until the top is browned
and bubbling. Eat immediately, but be careful not to burn your
lips.