Soft-boiled eggs with cumin courgette and broccoli dippers

This recipe was born of a Saturday with my mum a few years ago when neither of us could decide what to eat for breakfast. I was hungry but had just come back from the first book tour, where I’d been lucky enough to enjoy many delicious dishes but was suffering from a massive bout of jetlag. I knew I wanted eggs and my body knew it wanted veggies. My genius mum made this, and I added the cumin to create a match made in heaven. Quick and simple, this recipe is great for a weekday breakfast – it can feed a family with minimal fuss, but watch out for sticky fingers!

Serves 2

½ head of broccoli and 1 courgette

dash of extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving

4 medium eggs

sea salt, to taste

pinch of toasted ground cumin (see cooking with spices, here)

1 Cut the broccoli into thin florets and the courgette into soldiers – try to make them all roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate.

2 In a steamer set over boiling water, lightly steam the vegetables until they have slightly softened but still retain their bite. Alternatively, put them in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water, cover with a tightly fitting lid, and steam for 1–2 minutes for the courgette and 4 minutes for the broccoli. Keep checking to make sure that the water doesn’t steam away.

3 While the broccoli and courgette are steaming, put the eggs in a medium pan, cover with cold water and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes for runny eggs.

4 When the vegetables are cooked, either toss them with the olive oil or place them on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over some salt and cumin.

5 Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the eggs and place them in egg cups. Remove the tops of each egg by tapping the shell with a teaspoon or using a knife to slice the top off. Serve with the plate of veggies and extra salt, oil and cumin on the side – and dip away!

FEELING
VATA

Stick to courgettes, rather than a mix of broccoli and courgette.

FEELING
KAPHA

Eggs are already grounding, so lighten with just one egg and loads of veggies.