Egg and Cottage Cheese Muffins

Method

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1. Heat the oven to 175C fan and butter a six-hole muffin tin thoroughly, corners included.

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2. Wilt the spinach in a dry pan for 2 minutes, then tip it into a sieve and press hard. When it stops dripping, wring it in a clean cloth. You should be left with a tight ball.

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3. Chop the squeezed spinach roughly.

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4. Whisk the eggs with the salt, pepper and nutmeg until completely uniform — streaks of white set differently and show as pale patches.

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5. Stir in the cottage cheese, spinach, spring onions and most of the cheddar.

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6. Divide between the holes, filling each about three-quarters. Scatter the last of the cheddar over.

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7. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, until risen and just set in the middle. They will sink a little as they cool, which is normal.

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8. Run a knife round each and lift them out after 5 minutes.

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Chef’s Tips

• Wring the spinach properly. Every failed batch of these is a wet-spinach batch.
• Do not fill the holes to the top. They rise like a souffle and then settle, and an overfilled tin makes a joined-up sheet.
• A silicone tin saves a lot of scraping — egg sticks to metal however well you grease it.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.

Pairing Suggestions

• Hot sauce or harissa
• Sliced avocado
• Strong coffee

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 4 days and freeze 2 months. Reheat from chilled in a 160C oven for 8 minutes; a microwave makes them weep and go rubbery.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.