Egg and Chips

"Fish and chips, steak and chips, chicken and chips, all are desirable, but none comes close to the simple, harmonious perfection of egg and chips." _Nigella Lawson

Have you ever had egg and chips for breakfast? I haven't.

Egg and chips seemed like a great idea for this week's theme over at I Heart Cooking Clubs, Budgets and Bargains. A couple of eggs and potatoes and you have an entire meal. You can't get much more economical than that.

Egg and Chips - adapted from Feast, by Nigella Lawson
*Serves 2
Eggs (fried overeasy, overhard, scrambled, etc)
One decent sized potato (about 7 oz) One per person is about right

Heat the oil to 325F. And when I say oil, I mean a lot of oil. These babies swallow gallons at a time.

Peel the potatoes then slice them thickly, then cut these thick slices into thick chips (or the size you want them). Put a dishtowel out, plonk the chips in the middle and then wrap over the two ends, like a package, and give a gentle rub. Now your chips are ready for frying.

Put the chips into the basket and lower this into the hot fat and wait for it to rise, yellow and bubbling, up above the pale strips of potato. Unless the basket is really packed, 5 minutes is all you should need for this stage. Lift up the basket, give it a second or two to settle and for oil to drip off and then turn the chips out onto the paper towels.

Turn the gauge up to 375F and when it's reached that temperature, re-fry the chips. About 2-3 minutes should be plenty, but just do this by eye and ear; the chips should look golden and golden-brown in places (good to have some vairety) and they should rustle when shaken in the basket and clatter when turned out on to a plate.

Notes/Results: Easy, fun and extremely economical. The whole family loved the chips for breakfast. I think Nigella intended for the eggs to be fried or served over-easy, but I served my eggs scrambled. I started cooking the eggs when the chips went back into the oil for the second fry. The timing worked out great. Nigella's recipe is written to serve two. I think you definitely need at least one potato per person. The chips are really good (especially with hot sauce). I made two batches. This is definitely something that we will enjoy again!!

Head on over to I Heart Cooking Clubs today to see what other budgets and bargains everyone cooked up!