Egg Stir Fried Rice

Serves 2

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

  Olive oil

  Usually the darker green the oil, the richer the flavour.

  • Extra virgin olive oil is good for drizzling on salads and should never be heated as this destroys the fine properties
  • Lighter olive oil is good for adding to bread, or to flavour a salad or marinade for chicken, meat, fish or vegetables. Lighter olive oil can be gently heated and added to marinades and baking.
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• About 160g leftover vegetables, such as carrots, beans, peas, broccoli, sweetcorn, courgettes and mushrooms
• 150g leftover cooked rice

  Rice

  Great as an accompaniment or for making risotto and pilaff.

  • White long grain rice is good for salads, and its absorbent qualities go well with sauces and casseroles.
  • Risotto rice has an incredible capacity to absorb a great amount of cooking liquid and still retain bite, just like paella rice.
  • When cooked, basmati rice gives a light, fluffy, separate grains perfect to accompany curries or biriyani and pilaff dishes.
  • Rice can replace breadcrumbs in stuffing’s and a few grains can be added to soups to thicken the broth.
  • You have to be careful when reheating rice as there is a nasty little bacteria called bacillus cereus which may be present in cereals, particularly rice, and it is resistant to heat.
  • It’s important always to cook rice for a hot dish just as you need it and serve it piping hot. If the rice is for a cold dish, once it’s cooked, cool it as quickly as possible and chill within two hours. To do this, drain the rice in a colander, rinse with cold water then tip into a large shallow container. Once it is cold, cover and keep refrigerated for no longer than a day.
• 2 lightly beaten eggs

  Eggs

  Always have some on hand for quick scrambled egg.

  • Keep eggs in the fridge in their box and never eat them after their use-by date.
  • The Health Protection Agency recommends buying Lion branded eggs, which come from vaccinated hens and are therefore less likely to contain salmonella
• Salt

  Salt

  Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.

  Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.

• Black pepper

  Black peppercorns

  Best used as a condiment.

  They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.

  • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
  • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
  • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar