Martha's full English with baked eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Grate the potatoes coarsely (no need to peel) and rinse with cold water to wash away excess starch. Place the potato into a clean tea towel or sheet of muslin and squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can.

2. Melt the butter in a large ovenproof frying pan, then add the grated potato. Season, then fry for 5 minutes until the potato starts to colour. Use a spatula to spread the potato into an even layer, pushing it up the sides of the pan to form a nest, then place the pan into the oven.

3. When the potato has been baking for 10 minutes, start to fry the toppings in a separate frying pan. Heat the oil, then add the mushrooms and fry for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Open the oven and sprinkle the mushrooms over the potato base. Scatter over the halved tomatoes as well.

4. Next, fry the pancetta until crispy, for around 2-3 minutes. Tip onto a piece of kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil, then add to the potato in the oven. Finally, crumble the black pudding into the pan and fry for a few minutes until just beginning to crisp, then arrange on the base with the other ingredients.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully make 6 small craters in the topping ingredients for the eggs to sit in. Crack the eggs into the holes, then return the pan to the oven and bake for a final 8 minutes, or until the white no longer jiggles when shaken. Finish the dish with a crack of black pepper and chopped parsley if you like, then serve.

Martha’s tipsYou can easily make this recipe vegetarian by swapping the bacon and black pudding for alternative ingredients (halloumi or roasted peppers work well). Just make sure you don’t choose anything which will release too much liquid or the base won’t crisp up. This recipe serves 3-4 and doesn’t reheat very well once you’ve added the eggs, so if your household is smaller, you can make miniature versions. After you’ve fried the potato in step 2, press into the holes of an oiled muffin tin to make a nest and bake as above. Add eggs to the ones you want to eat immediately, but freeze the rest once cooled and add the egg when you defrost and reheat.