Fried egg with sage, chilli and garlicky yoghurt

The combination of garlic, yoghurt and olive oil is compulsive. I use it for a number of dishes, including perfectly ripe sweet tomatoes; with roasted chicken, or just on its own on toast. You could poach the eggs if you prefer, but I think the crispy bits of the fried egg taste particularly good with the brown butter and creamy yoghurt.

Serves 4

240ml good-quality Greek-style yoghurt (thick and only mildly sharp)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Sea salt
50ml extra-virgin olive oil
80g unsalted butter
8 sage leaves
4 very fresh organic free-range eggs
1 red chilli, very finely sliced into rings (seeds left in)

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Put the yoghurt into a bowl with the garlic, a good pinch of salt and the extra virgin olive oil. Stir well to combine, taste and add a little more salt if necessary. Set aside to allow the flavours to adjust to each other while you brown the butter.

Place the butter in a non-stick pan along with the sage leaves over a medium heat. Cook, stirring gently, until the butter begins to separate, and then brown. You can strain it to remove the sediment if you like, but I prefer to leave it in. Set aside in a warm place while you cook the eggs.

Place one large (or two small) non-stick frying pan(s) over a medium heat. Add a teaspoon of the browned butter, without the sediment, to each pan. When hot, crack the eggs into the pans and add the chilli. Cook until the whites are firm and the yolks soft. I like to spoon the hot butter over the whites to encourage the eggs to cook more quickly and to flavour them.

To serve, put the garlicky yoghurt onto four plates, lay the eggs on top and scatter over the chilli. Spoon the warm sage butter over the eggs and serve at once.