Creamed sea spinach on toast with a poached hen's egg

Serves 4

To serve, spoon the creamed sea spinach on the toast; place the egg on top (Jason Lowe)

It's important to get children out foraging so that they appreciate that not everything we eat has to be bought from the shops. Food for free is a great motivating device, whether it be for mushrooms, berries or sea vegetables.

If you're struggling to find sea spinach, then you could improvise with a selection of spring vegetables, or even some baby spinach leaves, chard, cultivated sea kale, imported samphire, etc – though these tend to be a lot more expensive.

500-600g sea spinach, stalks removed, washed and dried
200ml double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of bloomer loaf
4 hens' eggs

Cook the sea spinach or vegetables in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes until tender, then drain and squeeze out as much water as possible, reserving a little to help blending.

Coarsely blend in a food processor then transfer to a saucepan. Add the cream, season and simmer until the mixture is thick, re-season if necessary. Toast the bread on both sides and poach the eggs.

To serve, spoon the creamed sea spinach on the toast; place the egg on top.