Poached egg with carrot and parsnip latkes and hummus

I wake at 6.30am every Saturday without fail. It doesn't matter what time my head hit the pillow Friday night. I know the time before I even look at the clock - give or take 10 minutes.

It may have something to do with Kitty meowing at our window at the crack of dawn. I know I need to let her in or it will be a constant, pained mew for the next hour. I'm up and there's no more shut-eye in this town.

I try in vain to head back to bed. The cat has other ideas. Kitty will scratch at our feet under the doona - head in, tail out. You can only lie there and wait for it to begin. No matter how many stern admonishments, it's only a matter of time before you feel the doona move and the clawed-up paws venture in. I give up and head to the kitchen to start making breakfast.


The upside of the regular rude awakening is I plenty of time to make a fairly long and involved dish. This Saturday, the fridge was bare, save for some root veggies and eggs. That's all I needed to tart up the most important meal of the day.

Parsnip is one of Mum's favourite veggies. I had some leftover from a recent roast for one of her visits. Grate them in the food processor with carrots, throw in an egg, flour and a spice mix and you've got a parsnip cake fit for a... poached egg.

My poached egg trick? A very slow simmer (the bubbles should barely break the water) with a touch of white wine vinegar. Break the egg carefully in a mug and tip it in to the water with the lip of the mug as close to the water as possible.

As soon as we sit down to eat, Kitty is circling, crying for her own food. The only way we can eat in peace is to distract her with food. Her meal goes down and while her back is turned, the door shuts firmly. We gobble down breakfast and head back to bed for a second go at sleep. Gotcha, sucker.

Ingredients

Latkes
2 carrots
2 parsnips
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp baharat 7 spice
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

Poached eggs
2 eggs
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

To serve
Hummus
Pomegranate molasses

Peel the carrots and parsnips and trim the top and tails. Put through the food processor grater. Place in a bowl with the remaining latke ingredients. Mix thoroughly to distribute the flour and egg evenly across the vegetables.

Heat the butter and oil in a frypan large enough to hold four latkes. Shape four patties and pop in the fry pan. Press firmly with a egg flip to flatten. Cook until golden on one side, then flip. Place a lid on top and cook for a further 7-10 minutes over low heat.

Heat water in a saucepan until boiling and add vinegar. Turn heat to low and add the egg carefully to the water. Poach slowly until white is just set. Drain on paper towel.

Flip the latkes on last time, with the lid off to crisp up the first side again. Remove from heat and drain on the paper towel.

To serve, spread hummus on the plate and top with two latkes. Add the poached egg and sprinkle with salt and pomegranate molasses and enjoy!