Soft-boiled eggs, dill sauce and smoked halibut with toasted fennel crumb

Soft-boiled eggs, dill sauce and smoked halibut with toasted fennel crumb

Who knew a lunch so sophisticated could take only 20 minutes? The combination of smoked halibut, fennel-flavoured sourdough croutons and runny egg yolk is guaranteed to impress your guests.

Soft-boiled eggs, dill sauce and smoked halibut with toasted fennel crumb

  • Serves icon Serves 4
  • Time icon Hands-on 20 min

Who knew a lunch so sophisticated could take only 20 minutes? The combination of smoked halibut, fennel-flavoured sourdough croutons and runny egg yolk is guaranteed to impress your guests.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
404kcals
Fat
34.1g (17.9g saturated)
Protein
17.1g
Carbohydrates
6.8g (1.4g sugars)
Fibre
0.9g
Salt
0.5g

Ingredients

  • 50g rye sourdough bread, roughly torn
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • Extra-virgin olive oil for toasting and drizzling
  • Sea salt flakes
  • 10g unsalted butter
  • 1 shallot, very finely chopped
  • 1½ tbsp white wine vinegar
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 50ml double cream
  • 150ml crème fraîche
  • Small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
  • 4 medium or large free-range eggs (at room temperature)
  • 100g pack Campsie Glen Smokehouse smoked halibut charcuterie
  • Lemon wedges, to serve
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Method

  1. Put the rye sourdough in a food processor and pulse until you have a mixture of fine and medium breadcrumbs (or grate on the coarse side of a grater). Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat, then add the fennel seeds. Toast until fragrant, then add the breadcrumbs with a splash of olive oil and toast for a further 5-6 minutes until golden. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and set aside.
  2. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, then fry the shallot for 6-7 minutes until softened. Add the white wine vinegar, pepper and bay leaf, and simmer for a minute until most of the liquid has evaporated. Turn down the heat, discard the bay leaf, then pour in the cream and crème fraîche. Taste, season with salt and pepper, then add the dill.
  3. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, lower in the eggs and cook for 6½-7 minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Remove the eggs from the pan and run them under cold water briefly until cool enough to handle. Carefully peel.
  4. Divide the dill sauce equally among 4 plates, then top with slices of the halibut charcuterie. Halve the eggs and put 2 halves on top of the fish on each plate. Scatter over the fennel breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil and serve with a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze over.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
404kcals
Fat
34.1g (17.9g saturated)
Protein
17.1g
Carbohydrates
6.8g (1.4g sugars)
Fibre
0.9g
Salt
0.5g

delicious. tips

  1. Soft-boiled quail eggs would work well here, too, as would the ready-cooked ones available alongside the smoked fish in most supermarkets.

  2. Make the crumb a few hours in advance, cool completely and keep in a sealed container. Make the sauce up to an hour in advance and gently warm just before serving.

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