Chef Thomas
A Proper Bacon Sandwich
Back bacon in a hot pan, good white bread, soft salted butter. Ten minutes between waking up and the first bite of something that makes the morning make sense.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Bubble and Squeak
Created by Chef Thomas
Cold-morning cooking at its most honest: yesterday's potatoes and greens, fried in butter until the kitchen smells of crisp edges and second chances, with a fried egg slid on top.
Breakfast & Brunch
British
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
10 min
Active Time
15 min cook•25 min total
Yield2 servings
The kitchen is cold. The fridge is full of the kind of things that don't look like a meal yet: half a pan of roast potatoes from last night, a bowl of cabbage that nobody quite finished, a few sprouts going soft at the edges. This is where bubble and squeak begins. Not with a plan, but with a rummage.
The name comes from the sound it makes in the pan, or so the story goes. I've never been entirely convinced, but I like the idea that a dish can be named for its noise rather than its ingredients. What matters is the crust. That golden, slightly shattered underside that forms when you press the mixture into hot butter and leave it alone long enough to do its work. The temptation is to fiddle with it. Don't. Walk away. Make the tea. Come back when you can smell it.
I eat this on Boxing Day morning, standing at the counter in a cold kitchen with the heating not yet on and the remnants of yesterday's dinner becoming today's breakfast. But it's good on any morning when the fridge needs clearing and something warm and crisp would set the day right. A fried egg on top, the yolk still soft enough to break into the potatoes. Brown sauce if you're that way inclined. I am.
A recipe is a conversation, not a contract. Use whatever greens you have. The potatoes can be roasted, boiled, mashed, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the hot pan and the patience to let it crisp. We're only making breakfast.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
leftover cooked potatoes
Quantity
400g
roughly crushed
leftover cooked greens
Quantity
200g
cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, or whatever you have
butter
Quantity
a generous knob
olive oil
Quantity
a splash
onion
Quantity
1 small
finely sliced
large eggs
Quantity
2
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
brown sauce (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| leftover cooked potatoesroughly crushed | 400g |
| leftover cooked greenscabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, or whatever you have | 200g |
| butter | a generous knob |
| olive oil | a splash |
| onionfinely sliced | 1 small |
| large eggs | 2 |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| brown sauce (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide, heavy frying pan or cast iron skillet, at least 25cm
- •Sturdy spatula or fish slice
Instructions
- 1
Crush and combine
Take the leftover potatoes and crush them roughly with a fork. Not mashed, not smooth. You want some chunks, some flattened bits, some pieces that will catch and crisp in the pan. Chop the greens if they're in large pieces and fold them through the potato. Season with salt and pepper. That's your mixture. It should look unpromising. It always does.
This is a recipe that exists because of leftovers. Roast potatoes work better than boiled. Brussels sprouts work better than you'd expect. Use whatever the fridge has given you to work with. - 2
Soften the onion
Melt the butter with the oil in a wide, heavy frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter foams, add the sliced onion and cook gently until soft and just beginning to turn gold at the edges. Five minutes, maybe a little longer. The onion isn't traditional, but it adds a sweetness that brings everything else together. I always add it now.
- 3
Fry until crisp
Add the potato and greens mixture to the pan, pressing it down firmly with the back of a spatula into a thick, flat cake. Here is where you need patience. Leave it alone. Let the bottom turn golden and crisp, properly crisp, the kind of crust that resists the spatula when you check it. This takes a good six or seven minutes. Flip it in sections, don't worry about keeping it neat, press it down again, and let the other side do the same. You're after a patchwork of golden, crunchy edges and soft, yielding centres.
The pan needs to be properly hot and the bubble and squeak needs to be left alone. Fussing with it, pushing it around, poking at the edges, that's how you end up with something grey and sad instead of golden and crisp. Press it down and walk away. - 4
Fry the eggs
Push the bubble and squeak to one side or divide it between two warm plates. Add a little more butter to the pan and crack in the eggs. Fry them gently so the whites set but the yolks stay soft and trembling. Slide them on top of the bubble and squeak. A grind of black pepper. Brown sauce on the table for those who want it. Breakfast is ready.
Chef Tips
- •Leftover roast potatoes make the best bubble and squeak because they've already had time in a hot oven and carry that flavour with them. Boiled potatoes work, but they need more help from the butter and the pan.
- •The greens can be anything. Cabbage is traditional. Brussels sprouts are better than you'd think, especially the ones that went a bit too soft at dinner. Kale works. A handful of peas thrown in at the last moment isn't wrong either. The fridge decides.
- •If you haven't got leftovers, you can make this from scratch. Boil potatoes and steam some cabbage, then let them cool before frying. But honestly, it's never quite the same. Bubble and squeak is a dish that needs yesterday in it.
- •Brown sauce is not negotiable in this house, but I won't judge you for ketchup. I might raise an eyebrow, but I won't judge.
Advance Preparation
- •The potato and greens mixture can be combined the night before and kept covered in the fridge. Take it out twenty minutes before cooking to lose the worst of the chill.
- •This doesn't reheat well. The whole point is the fresh crust from a hot pan. Make it and eat it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 400g)
Calories
440 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
215 mg
Sodium
950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
49 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
12 g
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