Breakfast Bacon, Cheese, and Bubble Roll Sandwich Recipe

There are many variations on the breakfast butty, but my favorite is one I discovered at the famous Maria’s Café in London’s Borough Market. It’s a classic combo of bacon and egg, but with a helping of bubble and squeak thrown in, all crisp on the outside and fluffy, cabbage-flecked potato within. The whole lot is crowned with a slice of melting cheese and served in a large floury roll. Add a squirt of your favorite sauce and this behemoth of a sandwich is guaranteed to blow your hangover out of the water. Then it’s time for a snooze…

Breakfast Bacon, Cheese, and Bubble Roll Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BUBBLE AND SQUEAK:

1lb 2oz (500g) potatoes

3½oz (100g) green (or Savoy) cabbage or other greens, roughly chopped

4 scallions (spring onions), finely chopped

1 tbsp whole-grain mustard

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Vegetable oil, for frying

8 slices smoked bacon

4 eggs

4 large floury rolls, split open

4 slices cheese, such as Cheddar or Swiss cheese

Brown sauce, ketchup, or steak sauce, to serve

To make the bubble and squeak, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water until tender, then drain and mash. Cook the cabbage in a separate pan of boiling salted water until just tender, then drain and mix well with the mashed potatoes, scallions (spring onions), and mustard. Taste, season well with salt and pepper, and then taste again. Cool slightly, then form into 4 burger-shaped patties. Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the bubble and squeak patties until golden and crisp on each side. Don’t worry if they break up; this just means more surface area and more of the good crispy bits. Meanwhile, cook the bacon to your liking and fry the eggs. Lightly toast the rolls, then immediately add a slice of cheese to the top half of each roll to let it melt slightly. Put a layer of bubble and squeak on the bottom half of each roll, then top with the bacon and fried eggs and add a squirt of your sauce of choice (I favor brown, personally). Top with the cheese-topped roll halves (cheese-side down) and serve immediately.