On Sunday morning with no brioche in the house but with a craving for eggs and some sort of bread, I opted for the traditional eggy bread. Except this time I thought I might embrace somebody else’s tradition, that being Olia Hercules. She is a Ukrainian chef, food writer and food stylist and in her book ‘Home food: recipes to comfort and connect’ she shares an savoury egg bread recipe from her childhood that would later provide comfort when she was ill as an adult. On Sunday morning I was far from ill, but I was ravenous and curious, so that seemed like the perfect starting point for another lazy weekend brunch. This time, unlike my previous attempt, I did have all the ingredients, sort of…

There was a jar of Hellman’s organic mayonnaise unopened in the fridge and a packet cheddar cheese slices that needed putting out of its misery. I figured that it could not be that difficult to shred a slice of cheese (I was wrong) and if it proved ridiculous (it was…), I would chop the cheese into tiny pieces. It was clear from the get go though, that I was not going to make it ‘snow with the cheese’ as so artfully described by Olia in her book.

When I first mentioned this Ukrainian delicacy to Ignacio, I was knocked sideways by his reaction. His face went from mild curiosity to abject horror in about three seconds flat at the thought of mayonnaise on eggy bread. I thought he was going to vomit right there and then. He was so repulsed, that he made me promise to keep it far, far away from him. I was quite taken aback by the strength of his feelings but, being the dutiful wife that I am, decided that I would eat my creation alone in the conservatory, as if I was some sort of culinary cast away.

So I made Ignacio, some ‘plain’ egg bread left him in the dining room with a bowl of chopped up cheese. I then went on to construct my own version of events. I was probably not as generous as I could have been with the mayonnaise. Despite my enthusiasm for trying something new, something in my gut told me that was too early in the day for that much condiment.

To be fair, I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed it either! I don’t know if it was Ignacio’s strong reaction that put me off, or if mayonnaise really does have the power to ruin perfectly good eggy bread. I was fine with the cheese. Cheese and eggy bread felt like an old favourite – like a comfortable pair of shoes. But the mayonnaise? It’s was like inviting a cool, trendy friend who just doesn’t quite get on with the rest of the group. I think I enjoyed taking photos of my meal more than eating it…

Fast forward to today: I was (working) home alone, feeling decidedly under the weather. I suspect it’s one of those ‘winter’ respiratory viruses. I should just shrug it off but the drama Queen 👑 in me is, is convinced I’m at death’s door. This morning I felt grim and ‘yuk’ so I treated myself to last night’s Indian takeaway for breakfast, washed down with a medicinal cocktail of Lemsip, lemon juice, and Manuka honey.

I probably shouldn’t have but I decided that I would just plough on with work. I didn’t have any meetings to attend, so I thought I would silently and slowly make a dent in my never ending pile of admin. When it got to mid-afternoon, I had to think about lunch (which was a late one given that the breakfast was so filling!) and I found myself leaning toward something simple like eggy bread, but without the involvement of mayonnaise! I felt that with the level of nausea I was experiencing, I was fairly sure more egg yolks and oil would only make a bad situation worse.

So, I made the same thing again, and this time, I ditched the whole grating cheese nonsense. Life’s too short. Instead, I just slapped a slice of cheese on the bread while it was in the pan and hoped for the best. And you know what? It was delicious. Perhaps it’s because was I feeling hungry and horrible, and let’s face it, any food tastes better when you’re starving and feeling sorry for yourself. A little comfort on a plate—just what the doctor ordered (if doctors prescribed eggy bread, which they absolutely should!)