Wholesome dinner for an exhausted mummy

After a busy weekend working and hosting a family visit, a wave of tiredness hit me this morning as I struggled to find the energy to get up.  I’m a person that loves being busy, however I am starting to feel the lack of sleep catching up with me. Autumn believes that the fluffy blankets in her room are for her, but they have now become a way for me to prolong the inevitable beginning of the day for a few more minutes. While she drinks her milk I hide myself under the blankets with my arms gingerly sticking out to brave the cool air of the morning so as to hold the story that she has chosen for me to read.

After a slow start we had an active morning with a trip to the swimming pool and then a shopping centre. Once we were home and Autumn had napped my thoughts turned to dinner preparation. At the weekend we were discussing ideas for new dishes for Autumn to try and my dad inspired me to create what became today’s dinner, as it is based on a family classic that I enjoyed many times when I was growing up. We call it “egg nest”. The original recipe is simply grated cheese pressed into a ramikin dish with an egg cracked into the middle, and then baked for 20 minutes. It’s so delicious and with baked potatoes makes a hearty meal after a busy day.

The obvious problem with creating this part of the meal for Autumn is the cheese element. So my dad suggested using the potato skin to cook the egg in, and it really worked. Here’s how I did it…

Baked potato with”egg nest” and courgette sauce

Ingredients 

• 1 potato
• 1 egg
• half a courgette
• a handful of spinach
• half a tin of chopped tomatoes
• dried mixed herbs (optional)
• chilli flakes (optional)
• oil (I used rice bran)

Method

• Bake the potato at 180 degrees (fan) for 90 minutes. (I put it in the oven then gave Autumn a bath while it cooked)
• Slice the potato in half and scoop out half the potato. Mix the potato with mixed herbs and a drizzle of oil and put back in the skin with a well in the middle
• Crack the egg into the well and bake for a further 20 minutes

Whilst the egg was cooking I made this courgette sauce to go with the other half of her potato. These quantities made enough sauce for our family of three.

• Chop the courgette and heat in a pan with a drizzle of oil for a few minutes to brown slightly
• Add the tomatoes, herbs and chilli flakes and cook for a few minutes
• At the last minute add the spinach then turn off the heat
• Blend the sauce and serve mixed into the potato

Autumn ate the whole dish and even had some of Alex’s when he was eating his later on. It was the perfect meal to have today, with minimal preparation and wholesome, tasty ingredients.We will definitely be making this again!