Potato & wild garlic flat breads with fried eggs & olive oil

Potato & wild garlic flat breads with fried eggs & olive oil

Spring

These potato flat breads are soft, tender and full of character, and make a somewhat unconventional alternative to toast in the morning. You can flavour them in all sorts of tasty ways, but in the spring I like to use wild garlic. It’s a strong and heady herb, but mellows once you’ve incorporated it into the dough. Later on, in the summer, parsley makes a lovely substitute and works magically with the potatoes and eggs. 

Makes 8

Ingredients

  • about 200g (7oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 400g (14oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for kneading
  • 1 large bunch of wild garlic leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt

To serve

  • 1 knob of butter
  • 4 chicken or duck eggs
  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • wild garlic leaves and flowers, if available (chive flowers also work well)
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Bring the potatoes to the boil in a large pan of salted water. Cook for 15–25 minutes, until tender. Drain in a colander, then leave for 15 minutes to allow the steam to evaporate. Mash until smooth.

Combine the flour, mashed potato, chopped wild garlic leaves, yeast and salt in a large bowl, then gradually stir in up to 250ml (9fl oz) of water, until the mixture forms a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until it feels smooth and elastic, sprinkling on a little more flour only if the dough feels very sticky. Cover and set it aside somewhere warm to double in size. This should take 2–3 hours.

When you’re ready, divide the dough equally into eight pieces. Flour your hands and roll each piece into a ball. You can either use a rolling pin to roll out little rounds or simply flatten the balls with your hands. Use plenty of flour, as the dough will be soft and sticky.

Heat a large frying pan over a high heat until hot. Shake off any excess flour from one flat bread and lay it in the hot pan. After a minute or so, check the underside – if you can see dark brown patches, flip it over. Cook the second side for 30–45 seconds, then remove and set aside to keep warm. Repeat for all the flat breads.

To serve, heat another large frying pan over a medium–high heat. Add the butter and, when bubbling, crack in the eggs and fry them to your liking. I prefer them easy-over, so I flip them for a moment.

Top the warm flat breads with the fried eggs. Trickle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. If I’m able to get hold of any wild garlic or chive flowers, I like to scatter these over at the last moment.

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