A protein packed start to the day.

It still surprises a lot of people who find out that I didn’t eat meat for a very long time, 14 years to be precise, obviously meat is a big part of my life now, but back in the day, I always had need for a quick protein hit, after working out or a physical game of rugby, my body ached for serious amounts of the good stuff.

This recipe was always easy to rustle up, surprisingly lavish, and quelled any cravings, ideal for a post exercise snack, a lazy Sunday morning brunch, or topped with a slice of smoked salmon for a little more luxury.

Scrambled Eggs with Feta and Spinach

Heat a good glug of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan on medium, and add had couple of handfulls of washed baby spinach and cook until just wilted.

Set the toaster going with a nice slice of sourdough or decent bread.

With a fork whisk up 3 eggs per person (no point having a tiny portion) add a pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper, and add to the spinach along with 100g of cubed feta. Stir gently until just starting to set and still creamy, fold in a knob of butter, and pile onto the slice of buttered toast with a pinch of cayenne pepper to pep it up further.

Beetroot Houmous and Feta Canapes

For a delicious quick starter or canape, I love using chicory boats, and load them up with something to tickle the tastebuds, often it’s a nice smoked fish mousse, but I wanted to try something different, so I delved into my River Cottage Everyday book and came back with the Beetroot Houmous recipe, and having lots of beetroot plump and inviting in the garden decided to go for this.

Beetroot and Walnut Houmous (River Cottage)

Roast 4 medium beetroot in the oven with a dash of olive oil.

Pop these in a foodprocessor with 50g toasted walnuts, 25g breadcrumbs, a tablespoon of tahini, cumin to taste, juice from a lemon, salt and pepper, a garlic clove and a good glug of olive oil/rapessed oil, and blend until a nice coarse paste is achieved.

Break off the chicory boats, and load with a teaspoon of houmous, a crumble of feta or goats cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.