A Hearty and Satisfying Fry Up to Soak up the New Year Booze

New Year is almost certainly the time of year when a majority of people over-indulge in terms of alcohol consumption. Although it is unlikely to make you drink less, eating hearty meals during this period will most certainly help your body cope to some extent with these alcohol excesses, ensuring that you feel less ill at the time and particularly afterwards. I well remember as a young man starting out on my drinking, "Career," having it drummed in to me by especially my grandmother that if I had to go out drinking, it was vital that I had a good lining in my stomach beforehand. The meal she most often advocated was an old-fashioned fry-up, cooked in lard in what was an absolutely delicious but certainly less than healthy fashion.

Although I am not trying to pretend that the fry-up I have prepared here is a healthy eating option, I have at least exchanged the lard for oil and tried to retain the hearty aspects of the meal with just a touch less cholesterol.

Ingredients per Person

2 beef link sausages
1 slice of black pudding (blood sausage)
2 rashers of bacon
1 egg
1 slice of bread
3 closed cup mushrooms (stalks removed)
1 medium to large tomato (halved)
Half a white onion (sliced)
Sunflower oil for frying
Salt and pepper

Method

It is important to remember when cooking eggs - especially when frying them - that the egg should never be cooked straight from the refrigerator. It must be removed at least a couple of hours in advance and allowed to come up to room temperature if you are to know anything like the best effect.

You will need two frying pans to make this recipe, at least one of which should be fairly large. To the large frying pan, add around a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Put the two link sausages in to the pan and cook on a low to medium heat for ten minutes, turning occasionally. After this time, add the black pudding and fry it for approximately five minutes each side (depending upon the thickness of the slice) until cooked.

The tomato, mushrooms and onions can be added to the pan after the black pudding has been turned.

When everything is in the pan, place a large dinner plate in to the oven and put the oven on to heat to 225F/100C/Gas Mark 1/4.

While the sausages and black pudding complete their last few minutes of cooking, cut a hole in the centre of the slice of bread using an egg cup. This is to accommodate the egg yolk. Add some oil to the second frying pan (which must be non-stick) and bring it up to a fairly high heat before adding the bread. Fry it for a couple of minutes to effectively lightly toast one side and then turn it over. Break the egg in to a small bowl and then carefully pour it on the bread, ensuring the yolk goes in to the hole.

The sausages and black pudding should be removed from the frying pan and transferred to the hot plate in the oven to keep warm. The bacon should then be added to the pan with the vegetables to fry for a couple of minutes each side. At this stage, the pan with the bread and egg should be placed in the oven. This will complete the cooking of the egg without having to turn the bread again and spoil the presentation.

When the bacon is ready, the meal can be plated up and served - with the HP Sauce being optional.