A new addition to our menu for 2022 & a firm favourite with guests who love deeply moreish savoury flavours! Here’s what it includes…

Nasturtium & Smoked Gubbeen Potato Cakes, topped with caramelised Summer greens, poached eggs & nasturtium capers.

Feel free to chop & change different elements. Key to this breakfast are happy hens as well as freshly picked seasonal veggies – which mean they’re super sweet & juicy!  So get out into the garden or your hedgerows & gather up what you have growing in your garden.  Failing that get down to your local Farmers Market & support local growers buying what’s in season at that time & smelling delicious!  We’ve included links to some of the suppliers we use for the ingredients we don’t produce ourselves, support them if you can, they’re doing amazing work!

Ingredients (for 2)

For the Greens:-

• A small basket of fresh seasonal veggies
• Salt & Pepper
• Butter
• Organic Irish Rapeseed Oil

For the Potato Cakes:-

• Handful of nasturtium leaves & flowers
• 4 x large floury potatoes, roughly chopped, steamed & cooled
• Quarter block of smoked cheese diced (we use Gubbeen)
• 1 egg
• Pinch salt & pepper

For the poached eggs:-

• Pan boiling water with a dash of vinegar added
• 4 x duck or hens eggs (2 each)
• Pepper

For the nasturtium capers (OPTIONAL – must be prepped in advance):-

• Nasturtium seeds
• Salt
• Water
• Pickling vinegar

What to do with it all!

For the Nasturtium Capers:-

1. **Must be made a least 2 weeks in advance**
2. Collect as many nasturtium seeds as you can. Pack into a large jam jar & cover with brine by mixing 1g salt to every 10ml of water in a jug & then pouring over until the seeds are submerged. I usually start by taking 100ml of brine & can make more if needs be! Leave for 24hrs, then pour off the brine, rinse the seeds, returning them to the jam jar.
3. Make a pickling vinegar to your taste – can make sweet or spicy – look up some recipes separately & make up a flavour combi you enjoy!
4. Pour over your nasturtium seeds & leave for a minimum of 2 weeks if possible. Will keep for up to 1 year sealed.

For the Greens:-

1. Fry your  washed, roughly chopped greens in a glugg of rapeseed oil starting with whatever needs most cooking e.g. courgettes adding smaller, quicker cooking veggies once the rest is golden.
2. Finish with a dash of salt, freshly ground pepper & a knob of butter – done!

For the Potato cakes:-

1. Mash the steamed, cooled potato before mixing in the egg, diced cheese, nasturtium leaves (roughly chopped), salt & pepper.
2. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop up ball of the mix & add to a hot pan using a fish slice to flatten the balls in the pan.
3. Fry until browned, then flip over & cook other side – done!
4. Place on a chopping board & cover with foil until ready to assemble your morning feast!

For the poached eggs:-

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil & add a dash of vinegar (will help the egg stay together)
2. Crack an egg into a tea cup & gently lower into the pan. Repeat for the other eggs.
3. After 2 minutes use a slotted spoon to gently lift the egg out of the water, should have a little wobble or can cook for longer for hard poached.

To Assemble:-

Arrange the potato cakes in a circle on the plate, pile your caramelised veggies across the centre followed by your poached eggs. Crown the whole lot a little grated smoked cheese, some finely chopped nasturtium leaves as well as flowers & the capers finishing with a final sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.

We hope you enjoy these nasturtium potato cakes as much as our guests do! We’d love to see any photos of yours over on our social media (links on our contact us page).

If you’d rather put your feet up & enjoy this breakfast freshly made for you, why not book one in for a stay in our Botanical Bell Tent or Botanical B&B or if you’re sorted for accommodation join us for a Breakfast Tour instead!