Smashed avo dukkah breakfast with poached egg, done properly

Second week of the season and the avocados at my greengrocer on Enmore Road have finally dropped back to a sensible price. Three for five dollars, skins that give just slightly under your thumb, the kind that smash without turning to soup. That’s the whole trick of this dish, honestly. Good avo, good bread, an egg you haven’t overcooked, and a jar of dukkah you made on a Sunday afternoon while something else was in the oven.

The bread matters more than the avo

I say this every time someone asks me about breakfast and I’ll say it again: the avocado gets all the credit and the bread does most of the work. A thin white slice gives you almost nothing to chew on and you’re hungry again by ten. Go for a proper wholegrain or seeded sourdough, something with real texture, and you’re adding fibre, slow-release carbohydrate and a base that can actually hold a poached egg without collapsing. The balanced plate approach isn’t about cutting anything out, it’s about making sure what’s on the plate is doing something for you, and bread is no exception. The Australian Dietary Guidelines put daily fibre targets at 25 to 30 grams for most adults, and most of us are well under that most days, according to the Eat for Health guidance. A seeded loaf and a smashed avo gets you a decent chunk of the way there before nine in the morning.

Ingredients

• 2 thick slices wholegrain or seeded sourdough
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper
• 2 fresh eggs
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp dukkah (homemade below, or a good bought one)
• Pinch dried chilli flakes, or fresh chilli sliced thin
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• A few coriander leaves or micro herbs, to finish

Homemade dukkah (makes about 1 cup)

• 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Method

1. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, shaking often, until the skins blister and they smell properly roasted. Tip onto a tea towel and rub to remove most of the skin, then let cool.
2. In the same pan, toast the sesame seeds until pale gold, about 2 minutes, then the coriander and cumin seeds separately until fragrant, another minute or so. Let everything cool completely.
3. Blitz the hazelnuts in short pulses until roughly chopped, not a paste. Grind the coriander and cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then combine everything with the sesame seeds and salt. Store in an airtight jar.
4. Bring a small saucepan of water to a gentle simmer, add the vinegar. Crack each egg into a cup first, then slide in one at a time, swirling the water gently before it goes in to help the white wrap around the yolk. Poach for 3 minutes for a soft, jammy yolk, then lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper.
5. While the eggs poach, toast the bread and halve the avocado, scooping the flesh into a bowl. Add lemon juice, a good pinch of salt and pepper, and mash roughly with a fork, keeping some texture rather than pureeing it smooth.
6. Spread the smashed avo thickly over the toast, sit the poached egg on top, then scatter over the dukkah, chilli flakes and a drizzle of olive oil. Finish with coriander leaves and eat it while the egg is still warm.

The dukkah shortcut worth keeping in your pantry

I’ll be honest about something. Most of the dukkah sitting in jars at the supermarket has been on the shelf for months, and once those nuts and spices lose their oil the whole point of the mix is gone, it’s just crunchy dust. Making your own takes maybe fifteen minutes and keeps for three weeks in an airtight jar, which means one Sunday session sets you up for breakfasts through the whole month. The smell when the cumin and coriander seeds hit the hot pan is honestly one of my favourite kitchen moments, it’s warm and a bit smoky and completely different to the jar version. It’s also the same base mix I sprinkle over the roasted chickpeas when I want something with more crunch for a lunchbox snack.

Getting the poached egg right without a special gadget

You don’t need a silicone pod or a special ring, and honestly I’d argue they make worse eggs, they steam the white instead of letting it set naturally in the water. Fresh eggs matter more than any gadget, the fresher the egg the tighter the white holds around the yolk. A splash of vinegar in barely simmering water, a gentle swirl before the egg goes in, and three minutes on the clock. Any longer and you lose that soft yolk that runs into the avo and makes the whole thing worth eating.

A serving idea for the weekend

If people are coming over on a Saturday, I’ll double the toast and eggs and put the dukkah, chilli and a bowl of good feta out on the table so everyone builds their own. Grab your avocados and a bunch of coriander from the Addison Road Community Markets in Marrickville if you’re nearby, the produce there is usually a day or two fresher than the supermarket and it shows in how the avo smashes. Pair it with something to drink that isn’t just coffee, a berry and kefir smoothie on the side rounds the whole breakfast out without much extra effort.

One variation worth trying

When I want a bit more staying power I’ll mash half a cup of tinned cannellini beans through the avocado, drained and rinsed first. It softens the colour slightly and adds a good extra hit of fibre and plant protein, which matters if breakfast needs to carry you through to a late lunch. It’s a small change but it does shift this from a nice weekend dish into something you could genuinely eat most mornings as part of a morning routine that actually sticks, rather than a one-off treat you save for Sundays.

Basic health information on eggs, fibre and balanced eating is also covered well on Healthdirect if you want the broader picture beyond what’s on the plate.

— Mei Lin, Golden Door Living kitchen