With four children, of a school-going age, our weekday breakfast is rushed, to say the least. However, the only advantage to this is the learned appreciated that I now have for the weekend breakfast. Without the threat of the imminent school bell, our weekend breakfast is a whole lot more relaxed. Valentine's day falls on a Saturday this year, so if you're planning on starting the day off well, and earning a few brownie point, treat your loved one to an extra special breakfast, or brunch. This bap can be assembled in minutes, and the combination of flavours are simply scrumptious.

We’re very fortunate to have eggs straight from our garden from our lovely hens, but if you’ve to buy eggs seek out some true free-range, organic eggs. How delicious this bap really is, completely depends on the quality of the eggs. Brioche buns are for sale in M&S and Aldi, but if you can’t get your hands on them, any bread buns will work in their place. Enjoy!

Chorizo, Avocado & Poached Egg Brunch Bap

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 free range eggs

½ tsp white wine vinegar

2 ripe avocados, thinly sliced

1 tsp olive oil

100g chorizo, thinly sliced

4 brioche buns

Tomato relish of your choice

Smoked paprika, optional

Method

1. To poach the eggs, bring a saucepan of water to a bubbling boil, add the white wine vinegar. Using a spoon quickly stir the water to make like a whirlwind in the saucepan. Crack the egg into a cup, and with the water still swirling gently add the egg into the centre of the saucepan. Depending on the size of the egg it will take between 2 and 4 minutes to poach. Once cooked, remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper and cover with additional kitchen paper to keep warm while the rest of the eggs are cooking. You can cook two eggs together, but repeat this process for the rest of the eggs.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chorizo slices and fry for about 1 minute on each side. Remove to a plate.
3. To assemble the bap, cut the bun in half and over the bottom half spread a thin layer of relish, top with the slices of avocado, an even layer of fried chorizo and top with the poached egg. Season with a few grinds of black pepper and a sprinkling of smoked paprika, if you have it to hand. Add the top of the brioche bun and sandwich together. Enjoy straight away.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Nessa x

 If I am making a meal just for my husband and I to enjoy, I general rustle up something that the children aren't so keen on. Even though my crew seem to eat me out of house and home on a daily basis, there are some food items that I can’t tempt them with. One of those is shellfish. I happen to love shellfish, or any variety of fish, and I particularly love nothing better than serving it straight from the barbeque. However, as we are currently undergoing torrential weather warnings I don’t think that I'll risk dragging out the barbecue, even in the name of love, on Valentine’ s Day. Instead I'll settle for this quick and tasty oven baked prawn and chorizo dish. In lieu of that smokiness which I've come to love with barbecuing prawns I’ve sprinkled these with a little smoked paprika. This dish is prepared in minutes and is ever so tasty. So, my menu is set for Valentine’s and all I need now is to convince the children that they are all wrecked by 8.30pm so that I can cook this dish at a reasonable hour.

Oven-Baked Spicy Prawns & Chorizo on Toast

Ingredients

50g butter, softened

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

½ tsp smoked paprika

Zest of ½ a lemon

200g raw prawns, deveined and defrosted, if necessary*

75g chorizo, sliced

1tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Juice half a lemon

To Serve

1 tbsp olive oil

2 thick slices of bread

Method

1.       Preheat the oven to 200°C/ fan 180°C/ gas 5.

2.       In a bowl combine the softened butter with the chilli, garlic, smoked paprika and lemon zest.

3.       Place the prawns and chorizo in a single layer in a casserole dish. Evenly cover with the butter mixture.

4.       Place in the pre-heated oven for 12 minutes, at which time the prawns will be cooked through and white in colour.

5.       While the prawns and chorizo are cooking, heat a griddle pan and add the olive oil. Once hot fry the bread for about 2 minutes on each side. Cut each slice of bread in half and remove to two plates.

6.       Take the prawns from the oven, sprinkle over the parsley and squeeze over the lemon juice. Divide the mixture between the two plates and enjoy straight away.

*If you are using frozen prawns, either thaw them in the fridge overnight, or in a bowl filled with ice water. Ensure that the prawns stay cold, as when bacterial growth is encouraged when raw prawns are left at room temperature.

The children always present me with the most beautiful hand-made cards and inscribed within are the words which will never fail to melt my heart ‘I love you, Mammy’. I truly treasure these cards each year. 

Whatever way that you choose to celebrate, have a Happy Valentine's Day. xx