High-Protein Full English

Ingredients

• 3 back bacon rashers
• 2 pork sausages (good quality)
• 2 large eggs
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 100g chestnut mushrooms, halved
• 200g baked beans
• 1 slice sourdough bread
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp butter

Method

Start the sausages in a cold non-stick pan over medium heat. This gives the casings time to render fat gradually rather than split from thermal shock. Turn them every couple of minutes — aim for deep mahogany browning all over, which takes 12–14 minutes. The searing develops a crust through the Maillard reaction while the interior stays moist. Transfer to a warm plate.

Return the pan to the heat without washing it — that rendered pork fat is your cooking medium. Lay the bacon rashers flat and fry for 2–3 minutes per side until the edges curl and crisp but the fat remains supple, not brittle. Bacon fat smokes at a lower temperature than olive oil, so medium heat is the control here. Move to the plate alongside the sausages.

Halve the cherry tomatoes and place them cut-side down in the same pan. Leave them undisturbed for 2 minutes — this concentrates their juice through direct contact with the heat and softens the flesh. Add the halved mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for another 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mushrooms release water first, then reabsorb it as the pan dries out, which intensifies their earthiness. When both have collapsed slightly and taken on colour, move them to the plate.

Warm the beans separately in a small saucepan over low heat — they need gentle treatment or they'll split and turn to mush. Meanwhile, wipe out the main pan and add the butter over medium heat. Once it foams, crack the eggs into the pan and fry until the whites are set but the yolks still yield slightly to pressure. Lacy, browned edges on the whites show the butter has reached the right temperature; this takes 2–3 minutes. For over-easy, flip for 30 seconds only — the residual heat sets the outer yolk without cooking through.

Toast the sourdough to a light golden brown — it should still have some give, not be crisp. Plate everything at once: bread first as the base, then arrange the sausages, bacon, tomatoes, and mushrooms around it. Top with the eggs and pour the warm beans into the remaining space. Taste the beans for seasoning; if the components are properly salted and the butter on the eggs is good, you won't need additional sauce.