Huevos Rancheros with Guacamole

As it's the bank holiday weekend I thought it was the perfect time to share my favourite brunch recipe - huevos rancheros! Not only it is entirely clean and lean it's also delicious and very filling. My version of this dish is very much a 'chuck in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge' type recipe. I believe a traditional version would have just the onion, garlic, pepper and tomato but I think a bit of courgette or aubergine goes very nicely as well. This one serves two but with the amount of veg that went in you could stretch to three if you wanted, just add two more eggs.

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients:

1 onion (white in this case but red would work equally well)

Garlic - I love garlic so used about 3 large cloves but do this to taste

1 red chilli

1 red pepper

1/2 an aubergine

Black olives - about a handful will do

Tinned tomatoes 400g

Tomato puree - a good squirt or approximately a tbsp

Coconut oil

Hot smoked paprika

Oregano

4 large free range eggs

Large ripe avocado

Lime juice (or lemon will do at a push)

Salt and pepper

Method:

Chop all your vegetables beforehand so you can just add as you need to. While you are doing this heat your coconut oil in a frying pan deep enough for all your ingredients and the eggs. I cut the onion and chilli finely but the onion, peppers and aubergine can be cut into dice. With the olives you can either leave them whole or chop them up - if I'm honest I normally end up tearing them into halves or thirds as I add them to the pan but some might prefer to chop in advance.

Fry off your onions, garlic and chilli until soft then add in your peppers and aubergine and fry everything for a further 5-10 minutes.

When everything is softened add in your olives, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika and oregano. I'd probably also season the dish now as it's tricky to season after you've got the eggs in there. I normally rinse the tomato tin out and add the water in so if you do this then let it reduce a bit.

This is the point to create little dents to crack your eggs into. If you're worried about breaking the yolk then use a small bowl and transfer them from there.

Let things bubble away, as the sides of the eggs start to look more set and the liquid is reducing then cover the pan - if you don't have a lid that fits your frying pan I always use a baking tray balanced over the top.

While the eggs are cooking mash up the avocado with lime and salt. If you want to make proper guacamole you will also need to add crushed garlic but I think for this it's nice to just have the avocado.

Once the eggs are done ladle everything out onto a plate or bowl - I always think a soup bowl is easier as it seems the best of both worlds (to the extent than in our flat they get called the 'bowl-plates'). Top with guacamole and get munching.