The Hairy Bikers: a recipe from the new cookbook, Our Family Favourites

Inspired by their journey together, Si King completed this book, Our Family Favourites, as a tribute to his best friend and cooking partner Dave Myers, who died in February this year.

The book is a celebration of the food they loved to cook for themselves and their families. In it, King looks back and shares this ultimate collection of the Hairy Bikers’ most treasured dishes, along with heartfelt stories and reflections on their adventures together. Below is an example recipe.

(Orion)

Egg in a hole

“This is a great favourite with all the King family, especially my eldest son, Alex. It’s really an extra-special version of eggy bread, with a bit of spice and some grated cheese thrown in. What’s not to love?”

Serves 4

Ingredients

Method

1. Take the slices of sourdough and, using a 6–7cm cookie cutter, cut rounds in the middle of each of them. Discard the round centres (they’re good for croutons or breadcrumbs or cut them in half and use as half- moon soldiers for boiled eggs).
2. Heat a large frying pan and add a tablespoon of the olive oil. When it’s hot, add the slices of bread and fry them on one side only.
3. Remove the bread, then add the remaining olive oil and the butter. When the butter has foamed up, put the bread back in the pan, fried side up. Note – depending on the size of the slices of bread and your pan, you may have to cook these in a couple of batches.
4. Break the eggs one at a time into a ramekin and carefully drop one into each hole. Season with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle with half the parsley and some cayenne and nutmeg, then add the cheese.
5. Put a cloche over the pan (a large saucepan lid works well) and cook over a low-medium heat for 2–3 minutes until the egg whites are set and the cheese has melted. At this point you can flip the slices over for 30 seconds to brown the cheese a little and give you a few crisp bits around the edges, or you can serve as is. Either way, garnish with the remaining parsley and a little more nutmeg and cayenne if you like.

The Hairy Bikers: Our Family Favourites by Si King and Dave Myers is published by Seven Dials in hardback at £25, photography by Andrew Hayes-Watkins.