One of the things I look forward to most when traveling to Ireland is digging into a traditional Irish breakfast. It’s a plate loaded with lots of fried goodies, including the toast. Sweet tomato, savory mushrooms, delicately flavored bangers, oatey black and white pudding, fluffy scrambled eggs and crispy fried bread. This is a true breakfast of champions.

In recent years, it has been easier to find black and white pudding and Irish bangers in local supermarkets, so now I can make “a massive fry” (as my Irish husband and his school buddies term it) any time I like.

Irish Breakfast Fry-Up

Ingredients:

Olive oil, for frying
Butter, for frying
1 Irish banger (sausage)
2 slices thick-cut back bacon
2 slices each of black and white pudding
2 ounces (50g) button mushrooms, quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tomato, halved
Scrambled Eggs (recipe follows)
2 slices whole-grain bread

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the banger and fry for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Add the bacon and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden. Add the black and white pudding slices to the pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until beginning to crisp and the white pudding turns golden. Remove the sausages, bacon, and pudding slices from the pan and drain on paper towels. Place in an ovenproof dish in a low oven to keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, add a little more oil and butter to another frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened and turning golden. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the pan and add to the dish with the sausages and bacon.

3. Season the cut side of the tomato halves with salt and pepper and drizzle over 1 tablespoon of oil. Gently fry them, cut side down first, for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn over and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes, until just softened.

4. Heat a frying pan to a medium heat and cover the base with oil. Add the bread and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip and add a tablespoon of butter. Fry for another 2 minutes until crispy.

5. To serve, arrange everything on a warm serving plate.

Serves 1

Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

2 eggs
½ tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the milk, season with salt and pepper, and whisk together.

2. Add butter to a small pan over low heat. Immediately pour in the eggs and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring continuously until the butter has melted and the eggs are softly scrambled. Remove from the heat immediately to avoid overcooking the eggs.

Serves 1

Recipes from Buzzfeed.com

Biggles Flys Again, out of Dublin, play old school, infectious pop music. ‘Friends’ is one of my favorite tunes of theirs.

Check out Biggles Flys Again on Facebook and the band’s Website, where you can buy their music.

Cheers!