This is one of the most popular breakfast specials at my B&B.

It works very well on toasted granary bread or you could use white, brioche or gluten free.

To make it vegan, use olive oil or a vegan spread in place of the butter. Make sure your bread is vegan, and leave out the egg!

A couple of notes on the mushrooms:

• If you slice them too thinly they shrink a lot more. Slice them thickly so they retain some moisture.
• I also think people have a tendency to undercook mushrooms. I once saw a TV chef who said they should be nicely caramelised and I tend to agree!

Ingredients for one person

200g chestnut mushrooms ( or a mix of white and chestnut works well )
3 sprigs of lemon thyme ( or use normal thyme with a little lemon zest added  or dried thyme also works well )
5 sprigs of fresh parsley
5 chive stalks
salt ( If you can get it smoked sea salt really lifts the dish )
freshly ground pepper
good knob of butter
thickly sliced granary bread
a poached egg

Slice the mushrooms thickly. 

Strip the leaves from the thyme, Roughly chop the parsley. Snip or chop the chives into tiny pieces.

Melt the butter in a small frying pan. Add the mushrooms over a medium heat and fry till they are nicely caramelised.

Season to taste with salt and pepper ( for me this is about a quarter teaspoon of salt and 4 grinds of black pepper ).

Add nearly all the herbs to the mushrooms, leaving about 1/2 teaspoon

Toast and butter the bread.

Pile the mushrooms onto the toast on a warm plate. Top with the poached egg and add the remaining herbs.