Starter Light Bites

Rosie MacKean’s Ham, Egg and Romesco Toasts

This no-fuss snack is so easy to put together - even after a busy day. Perfect for entertaining, or snuggling on the sofa with a glass of wine.

15 prep, 25 cook

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 eggs, at room temperature

12 slices fresh bread

2 tbsp olive oil to serve

For the romesco

20g stale bread

2 tbsp flaked almonds

1 small garlic clove, peeled

1 red chilli

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

200g roasted red peppers from a jar, drained well and roughly chopped

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sherry vinegar

To serve

100g Jamón Serrano, slices torn in half

Method

1 Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil, then carefully lay in the eggs and boil them for 7 minutes. This should get you some nice, fudgy, but on the side of a harder boil, eggs – perfect for slicing.

2 When the eggs are cooked, immediately transfer them to cold water to chill down. Peel and set aside in the fridge until needed. To make the romesco sauce, preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C/350°F/Gas 4).

3 Tear the stale bread into small pieces and place on an oven tray with the almonds. Pop into the preheated oven for 8 minutes until the bread is crunchy and the almonds are browned. Keep an eye on them and if the almonds are colouring too quickly, remove them earlier. Let the bread and almonds cool before blitzing them up in a food processor with the remaining ingredients, adding salt to taste. Set aside.

4 When you're ready to make the toasts, preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C/400°F/Gas 6).

5 Drizzle the fresh bread slices generously with olive oil, then toast them in the preheated oven until just golden, around 10 minutes.

6 When you are ready to serve, slice each egg into 5–6 slices down the middle. Dollop a tablespoon of romesco onto each piece of toast, then top with a slice of egg. Take a half slice of jamón and drape it over the egg – try and arrange your toppings so you can see a bit of everything, the egg and jamón can be at slightly jaunty angles. Drizzle with a touch more olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and serve.

IMAGE: Sam Harris