In a cost of living crisis, heading to the shops to buy groceries can feel like you’ve taken out a mortgage. It’s not uncommon to hear gasps of shock in the chilled section over the price of cheese – and truthfully, the gasps are warranted.
The rising cost of food can make it challenging to know what to cook that is equally delicious and affordable. So we’re on a mission to make this mental hell-scape a touch easier in Cozzie Livs Kitchen – a new series where we get Aussie icons to share some affordable meals that won’t drain your bank account dry.
First up is MasterChef superstar Poh Ling Yeow, who’s been sharing delicious recipes with the nation for decades. She’s an artist, actress, author and television presenter – honestly what can’t she do? In her episode of Cozzie Livs Kitchen she has once again whipped up a delectable dish with her fancy take on a breakfast favourite.
For Poh saving money and food from going in the bin remains top of mind and instead of girl dinner she does ‘binner’. “So whatever might make the bins makes dinner instead.”
Brunch is an Australian pastime which has been bumped down the list for many Aussies as budgets become tighter and the cost of breakfast can leave tears in your eyes. So don’t fear brunch lovers – Poh has once again come to the rescue.
Poh’s Ham & Egg Sanga With Herbed Parmesan Crust
The total cost of this meal comes in at $5.31 per serve, which for a gourmet brekky is pretty bloody good. Plus you’ll have some ingredients leftover to use with some other meals as well.
Poh is passionate about food waste and shared some handy hints when it comes to making fresh herbs like thyme go further. It’s an ingredient that you’ll need for your herb crust. While you might think it’s a good idea to keep it in the fridge – don’t! Instead tie it up and hang it somewhere dry. Once it’s dried, you strip the stalks and you have thyme at the ready for your next meal.
She shared that by getting the grated parmesan from the pasta isle, you can freeze it and make it last a lot longer. So for those mid week meals where you want a bit of cheese, reach for freezer cheese as Poh notes that it does’t solidify.
Depending on how much ham you like on your sanga, I’d opt for getting a little bit of extra ham when you’re at the deli and if you want to make it slightly cheaper opt for dried herbs instead. However this is Poh’s fancy take on the sanga, so if you want to be a little bit fancy it’s most certainly worth it.
Ingredients
To make Poh’s cheap but gourmet ham and egg sanga at home, you’ll need:
6 pack eggs – $3.75
Sourdough – $3.25
Thyme – $3.20
Parsley – $3.20
Grated parmesan (from the pasta section) – $2.00
Tomato sauce – $1.95
Dijon mustard – $2.90
Smoked ham – $2.60
Butter – $3.70
Method
- Your first step is to make the herbed crust. Strip the thyme and finely cut chop it. Repeat this step with the parsley and place both herbs into a bowl. Then add your parmesan and a bit of pepper too. Mix well.
- Slice your sourdough and butter it really well. Make sure you go all the way to the edges, as Poh says “don’t be butter shy.”
- Dip your bread into the herbed mixed and press down firmly on the bread. Once you’ve done that give the bread a little tap so the excess mixture falls off. This is important to help your crust get extra crispy.
- Next place some butter in a pan and let it melt. Poh’s tip for cooking the ham is scrunching it up in the pan instead of letting it lie flat. This makes some parts get extra crispy while other parts remain soft to give variation and texture to your sanga.
- Once that’s cooking add your egg and fry to your liking.
- As the ham and egg are cooking add your bread to the pan alongside the ham and egg. This will ensure one side of your bread is extra crispy before placing it into the grill.
- Once your bread is crispy from the pan, place the bread the other side up under the grill to continue cooking the alternative side.
- While that’s all cooking it’s time to make your sauce. Combine a good squeeze of tomato sauce and a teaspoon of dijon mustard into a bowl and mix until it reaches a pale orange colour. If you want some extra kick Poh suggests mixing in some tabasco sauce too.
- Once your egg, ham and bread are cooked it’s time to assemble your sanga.
- Place the bread on a plate and spread your sauce over one side of the bread. Then place on your ham and egg on top. Depending on how saucy you like it you can also sauce up the other slice of your bread or leave once slice without sauce.
- Place the other piece of your herb crusted bread on top of the egg and ham and there you have it. A delicious and fancy egg and ham sanga.
MasterChef Australia is airing Sunday through to Wednesday on Channel 10 now.
The post I Asked MasterChef’s Poh Ling Yeow To Show Me How To Make A Fancy Egg & Ham Sanga For Cheap appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
