Moroccan poached eggs. Serves two.

• 1½ tsp whole cumin seeds
• virgin olive oil
• 4-6 shoots green onion, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 4 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 400g can
• 1 cup stock or water
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 4 large eggs
• handful each of fresh continental parsley and chives, roughly chopped
• grilled ciabatta or sourdough, to serve

Heat a heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium flame, and dry roast the cumin seeds for a minute, until they’re beautifully fragrant. Add green onions and garlic, and sauté in olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. Add tomato, sugar and stock, and simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato is beginning to break down and the mixture has thickened a little. Season. Make a few depressions in the surface of the tomato sauce, and break the eggs onto them. Poach for another few minutes, until eggs are done to your liking. You might need to add a little more stock, if things are in danger of burning. Top generously with parsley and chives, and serve with grilled bread and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum.

Edit: just remembered that this recipe is mostly inspired by a breakfast in Casa Moro: the second cookbook, by Sam & Sam Clark.

Tea eggs are super easy to make – as simple as boiling eggs, cracking the shells, and re-boiling them in a darkly-stained broth.

Chinese tea eggs

• ½ doz. free-range eggs
• 1 tbsp black tea leaves
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice

Hard-boil eggs in a medium-sized saucepan. They should be ready five or six minutes after the water comes to the boil. Remove eggs from water and leave until cool enough to handle (or run them under cold water). Once you can touch the eggs, gently crack them all over by rolling on your benchtop or tapping with a teaspoon. Return the eggs to the saucepan of water, along with tea, soy, rice wine and five-spice powder. Simmer gently for half an hour, then allow to cool. Refrigerate eggs in the broth for at least 24 hours before serving.