With Wimbledon getting into full swing, we may be enjoying the height of summer but our American cousins know that Hurricane season will be with us come September.  What better way to see off the days of hot winds and heavy rain than some spiced up smashed avocado and gooey poached eggs?  

This is our recipe for "Hurricane Avocados" - a spicy start to the day (or a hearty lunch) that is quick to prepare and leaves a nice tingle on the lips.  You can of course adjust the recipe to a level of heat that you prefer.

It's a spicy, creamy tummy filler that means I'm not snacking on my hummus chips before lunch rolls around.  For a double bonus, I can leave out the toast if I'm following a keto diet.

Step 1 - The spice blend

• The standard blend for each large avocado is:

  • half a teaspoon of lazy chilli - it's pre-chopped and I'm only using such a small amount, chopping a fresh chilli is a little overkill

  • half a teaspoon of the very fine "New York Buffalo Seasoning" mix from the good folks over at Schwarz

  • a teaspoon of paprika

  • ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

• Blend these spices together in a bowl with a fork, and set to one side

• Top Tip: whilst my personal preference is for smoked paprika, but regular or sweet may tickle your tastebuds more - feel free to experiment with whatever you already have in your spice rack. 

Step 2 - The avocado

• Halve each avocado, running a knife vertically from the stalk at the top and as deep as the stone inside

• Twist the two halves to separate and remove the stone from whichever side it decided to stay in

• Take one half and score the flesh vertically and then horizontally.  This makes the flesh as easy as pie to remove by running a spoon around the inside of the skin and tip into a bowl

• Give the avocado flesh a good mush with a fork against the side of the bowl, but don't blend it all into a smooth paste - the key to the mix is to have some smooth paste and some nice lumpy bits of avocado flesh

• Take your spice mix and mix it into the avocado - you'll now see some nice bright green pieces of avocado contrasted against the dark ochre blend of the spices mixed into the smooth paste

Step 3 - The eggs

• Fill a high sided frying pan with water (to about the depth of the spoon part of a teaspoon held vertically) and bring to a boil.  A dash of spirit vinegar will help the egg white form a nice ball around the yolk as it cooks

• Remove from the heat so there are no convection currents in the water to drag the egg white into stringy pieces before it gets a chance to solidify around the yolk. Remember you are poaching, not boiling the eggs

• Top tip: crack each egg into a small bowl first, then tip that into the water, it gives you a chance to catch any stray shell, or discard if you break the yolk - and avoid burnt fingers in the hot water!

• When the white has formed round the yolk you can turn the heat back on low to keep the eggs cooking slowly. When the white is firm, but yolk still runny, rescue the egg with a slotted spoon, this is normally around about 4 minutes for a large sized egg.  If you're poaching more than one egg in the same pan, you'll want to give it a little longer

• Dry the egg on a piece of kitchen roll to get rid of excess water

Step 3 - The construction

• Grill a bread product of your choosing

• Here we used a red onion bagel, but this works equally as well on toast, rolls, buns, baps, whatever you have to hand

• Butter (or don’t!)

• Spread a spoonful of the avocado mix on top

• Top with an egg

• Dive in, cracking the runny yolk over the fiery base

Perfect as a vegetarian breakfast, but equally enjoyable with other breakfast favourites. Good luck with the hangover recovery!

 Ingredients - Hurricane Avocados

• Spice mix for each avocado

  • 0.5 tsp Very Lazy Chilli

  • 0.5 tsp New York Buffalo spice blend

  • 1 tsp paprika

  • Salt and pepper

• 1 avocado per person

• 2 large eggs per person

• White wine vinegar

• Bread products of your choice