Get cracking with these new Easter recipes (feat. easy egg-and-bacon muffins for a crowd)

Eggs are one of the most indispensable ingredients in your last-minute meal arsenal. If you have eggs, you will have a meal.

It can be as simple as cracking a spoon across the delicate shell of a soft-boiled egg, delving into its snow-white and sunset-coloured heart. Or an omelette for frazzled Friday, or perhaps fried alongside bacon in a quest to recover from the night before.

Eggs serve many purposes, and here they stretch from breakfast and brunch to picnic and dinner, with an Easter chocolate version thrown in for good measure.

Herby egg breakfast sando with bacon jam

Lean in, I have a secret: silken tofu is the answer to this eggy sandwich. It results in the fluffiest, silkiest, easiest baked eggs you will ever make. It makes them much lighter and less of a breakfast assault; the sort of rich eating that requires a post-meal lie-down.

Note: This makes more bacon jam than you need, but it’s a wonder to have in your fridge to upscale any meal at a moment’s notice.

INGREDIENTS

Bacon jam

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 brown onions, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1kg streaky bacon, trimmed and diced
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup sherry vinegar

Eggy goodness

• 10 eggs
• ½ cup silken tofu
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1 cup melty cheese, grated (I used Swiss emmental, but fontina would also work like a dream)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
• 2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon
• 2 tbsp finely chopped dill

To assemble

• 10 English muffins
• 10 slices of American cheese

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 175C fan-forced (195C conventional). Grease and line a baking dish (about 30cm x 20cm x 10 cm), leaving enough baking paper overhanging to make it easy to remove the egg once cooked.
2. To make the eggy goodness, add the eggs, tofu and sour cream to a blender and blitz to combine. Pour into a bowl and stir through the cheese and herbs. Season with sea salt flakes and pepper. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. To make the bacon jam, add the oil, onion and garlic to a frying pan and place over low heat. Season with sea salt flakes and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the onions soften and caramelise. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, then add the brown sugar, vinegar and a splash of water. Stir to combine then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring until it has reduced to a jam-like consistency and darkens in colour. (Leftover jam can be stored in a jar in the fridge for 3 weeks.)
4. Run a spatula or knife around the edges of the baking dish to release the egg sheet, then remove it to a chopping board. Cut the baked egg into 10 even pieces, or to fit the size of your English muffins.
5. When you’re ready to serve, preheat the oven to 150C fan-forced (170C conventional).
6. To build the sandwiches, stack an egg piece, 1 slice of cheese and 1-2 tablespoons of bacon jam on half an English muffin. Top with the remaining muffin half. Repeat with the remaining muffins, then pop the sandwiches on a tray in the oven to heat through until the cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.

Makes 10 (with bacon jam left over)

Note: You can prepare these sandwiches well ahead of time and store them in the fridge. You can even freeze them if not using them immediately − wrap them in baking paper, then foil, and place them in a freezer bag to ensure they don’t get any freezer burn.

Croissant shakshuka bake

Two of my favourite breakfast regulars combine for the ultimate easy share-friendly brunch. Prepare the saucy base ahead of time, then it’s a mere moment of assembly and shove-in-the-oven ease.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 red capsicum, finely diced
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• generous pinch of brown sugar
• 2 x 400g cans finely crushed tomatoes
• 3-6 eggs (allow for one egg per person)
• 3 jumbo or 6 small croissants
• ½ cup Persian-style feta
• chopped coriander leaves, to serve
• pinch of sumac, to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. Add the oil to a frying pan and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, capsicum, coriander and cumin and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent the spices from burning. Add the tomato paste and cook until the paste has darkened. Add the canned tomatoes and brown sugar, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly.
3. Pour the shakshuka sauce into an ovenproof roasting or baking dish and gently nestle in the croissants (note: you may need two dishes if you’re using 6 eggs). Crack the eggs in between the pastries and scatter over the feta. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the egg whites have lost their translucency, and the yolks have just set.
4. Remove the dish from the oven, scatter over the coriander leaves, dust with sumac, and serve hot.

Serves 3-6

Rustic quiche, heavy on the greens, with bagel seasoning

Quiche and I have a complicated relationship. A failed pastry seal in culinary school saw me cleaning those huge pastry ovens of exploded quiche Lorraine filling long after my fellow commis chefs had gone home. I break out in a cold sweat whenever I think of that scrubbing.

But this quiche and I get along just fine. And you will be firm friends, too. She is intentionally free-form and rustic, and all the more robust for it.

The addition of bagel seasoning adds a different kind of crunch. It is a wonderful bedfellow for the greens luxuriating in their herby egg bath.

INGREDIENTS

• softened butter, to grease the tin
• 1 sheet (48cm x 27cm x 2.5mm) of frozen sour cream shortcrust pastry (I used Careme), placed in the fridge for 15 minutes to defrost slightly
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 zucchini, ends trimmed, sliced lengthways into even slices
• 1 brown onion, halved, cut into even slices
• ½ tbsp ground cumin
• 6 eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¾ cup cream
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• ¾ cup Persian-style feta
• 2 cups spinach leaves, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped soft herbs (I used basil, dill, tarragon)
• 3 tbsp bagel seasoning*
• 1 bunch of small asparagus spears (or other seasonal green of your choice)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 185C fan-forced (205C conventional). Line the bottom of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper and generously grease the sides with butter.
2. Gently place the pastry sheet over the tin and push down into the sides, pleating the edges of the sheet if necessary and allowing it to overhang at the top – we don’t want to cut and waste any of that glorious pastry. Line with baking paper and fill to the brim with pastry weights or dried beans.
3. Add the olive oil, zucchini, onion and cumin to a roasting tray, and use your hands to turn and coat the vegetables in oil.
4. Pop both the pastry shell and the tray of zucchini in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. While they cook, add the eggs to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the remaining ingredients, excluding the bagel seasoning and asparagus, and stir to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of the bagel seasoning to the filling, season thoroughly with salt and pepper, and set aside.
6. Remove the tray of zucchini from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Meanwhile, take the pastry tin from the oven, remove the weights and paper, then return the tin to the oven for another 10 minutes to brown the base of the quiche shell.
7. Chop three-quarters of the zucchini into bite-sized pieces, reserving a few whole strips to dress the quiche. Add the chopped zucchini pieces to the egg mixture, then pour the mixture into the quiche shell. Gently place the reserved zucchini slices and the asparagus spears on top. Scatter over the remaining tablespoon of bagel seasoning.
8. Bake the quiche for about 45 minutes or until it looks puffed and brown on top and there is only the slightest wobble in the centre. It will look slightly lighter in the centre. Don’t panic − this is OK. Allow it to cool slightly in the tin before removing, and especially before cutting. Season again with salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 6-8

Note: To make your own bagel seasoning, mix 1 tablespoon each of nutritional yeast flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds and poppy seeds.

The ultimate Easter (chocolate) tart

I wouldn’t limit this easy-peasy chocolate tart to Easter – that feels far too restrictive. It is as pretty adorned with Easter eggs as with beautiful in-season fruit.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheet (47cm x 27cm x 3mm) frozen vanilla bean shortcrust pastry (I used Careme), placed in the fridge for 15 minutes to defrost slightly
• 200g milk chocolate
• 200g dark chocolate (minimum 75 per cent cocoa)
• 50g white chocolate
• 285ml cream
• 80ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 bag speckled chocolate Easter eggs (about 1½ cups)

METHOD

1. Unfurl the pastry and use it to line a 24cm-diameter loose-bottomed tart tin, trim the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Line the pastry with baking paper and top with pastry weights.
3. Blind-bake the tart shell until the edges are golden (10-15 minutes), remove paper and weights, then bake until the base is golden (7-8 minutes) and set aside.
4. Place the milk, dark and white chocolate in separate bowls and set aside.
5. Bring the cream and milk to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering, add 2 tablespoons of the hot milk and cream to the white chocolate bowl, then divide the remaining milk and cream between the milk and dark chocolate bowls. Stand until chocolate melts (1-2 minutes), stir to combine, cool slightly, then stir 1 lightly whisked egg into each of the two main chocolate bowls.
6. Place the pre-baked tart tin on a baking tray. Reduce the oven temperature to 130C fan-forced (150C conventional).
7. Spoon the two main chocolate mixes into the tart; you want beautiful blobs of dark and milk chocolate. Drizzle the white chocolate mixture over the top.
8. Gently place the tray in the oven and bake until the chocolate filling is just set – it should have the slightest wobble in the centre. This should take between 30 and 40 minutes. Allow the tart to cool completely before adorning with chocolate Easter eggs. To serve, slice with a hot, wet knife.

Serves 8-10

Note: Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 1 week.