The original idea of Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday of Lent is quite charming. Traditionally, it was a day on which children who were employed as domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mothers and families and to worship at their “mother” church.

In contrast, the modern idea seems to limit the honouring of our mothers to a hastily wrapped gift and a bunch of flowers on one measly day of the year, allowing all sorts of taking-for-granted to go on for the other 364 days.

It would be better, perhaps, to think of Mother’s Day as a thanksgiving, borrowing the term from the lovely American tradition. This means setting aside a day on which to give thanks to and for our mothers, while our mothers can themselves give thanks for their good fortune in having us as their families.

Everyone is included in the celebrations, and it is happiness all round.

So here is a deliciously fresh and simple idea for Mothering Sunday. You simply line a ramekin with smoked salmon, fill it with creamy, freshly scrambled eggs, and invert it on to a hot, buttered muffin to serve with a little green leaf salad.

Serve it as a breakfast in bed, a brunch dish, a first course, or as a special supper with a glass of champagne.

Alternatively, use prosciutto instead of smoked salmon, swap the chives for parsley, or add a layer of sautéed mushrooms to the parcel.

As for who does the actual cooking — and washes the dishes — that is something for each individual family to decide.

Ingredients
Serves 2

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 5 min

4 slices of smoked salmon
2 free range eggs
2tbsp single cream
1tsp finely snipped chives
Sea salt and pepper
1tsp butter
2 plain muffins
Butter for muffins
Extra snipped chives for serving

METHOD

Line two small moulds or ramekins with the smoked salmon, leaving some hanging over the edge. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the cream, chives, salt and pepper, and lightly whisk. Split the muffins and lightly grill the insides only. Place two halves on each warmed dinner plate.

Melt one teaspoon of butter in a non-stick frying pan, add the eggs and cook over a gentle heat, stirring lightly with a wooden spoon every ten seconds or so, until almost set. Spoon the eggs into the smoked salmon moulds and draw the salmon up over the top. Gently invert the moulds on to two muffin halves, scatter with extra chives, and serve hot, accompanied by a green leaf salad if you like.

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