A fancy jam-and-egg breakfast

This recipe for an elegant breakfast sandwich comes from cookbook author Fanny Slater, who is one of three new co-hosts of “Kitchen Sink” on the Food Network. A new season of “Kitchen Sink” kicked off Sunday; it airs at 11 a.m. Sundays.

Slater’s co-hosts for the 13-episode season are the latest “Food Network Star” winner, Tregaye Fraser, and Washington, D.C.-based chef and restaurateur Spike Mendelsohn. The trio and their guests will debate culinary trends and share cooking hacks and recipes every week.

Slater says her breakfast creation, from her “Orange, Lavender & Figs,” cookbook, can be a main dish for brunch or can be wrapped in tinfoil for weekday on-the-go eating.

First-Prize Breakfast Sandwich With Orange Lavender Fig Jam

Serves 4

½ cup Orange Lavender Fig Jam (recipe follows)

6 large eggs

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper

4 English muffins, split in half

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces Taleggio cheese, rind removed and sliced

1 cup baby arugula

Make the Orange Lavender Fig Jam and place it in the fridge to cool down while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat and preheat the oven to broil.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the salt and pepper. Toast the English muffins until golden brown and set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to foam and sizzle, pour the eggs into the pan. As the bottom begins to cook, lift up the outside of the eggs with a heatproof spatula so that the runny center flows to the sides of the pan. When the bottom is fully cooked — about 30 seconds — carefully flip the eggs. (If you’re not comfortable flipping the eggs, scramble them with the spatula until soft and fluffy.) When the eggs are cooked through, immediately remove from heat and divide into 4 portions.

Spread all 8 toasted English muffin halves with fig jam. Top 4 of the halves with even portions of eggs and sliced Taleggio, and place them on a baking sheet. Broil until the cheese is melted, about 45 seconds. Top the melted cheese with arugula, then with the other half of the English muffin.

Orange Lavender Fig Jam

Makes 2 cups

1 pound fresh figs, stemmed and halved (or ½ pound dried figs, stemmed)

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

3 tablespoons orange juice (or ½ cup if using dried figs)

1⁄3 cup packed light brown sugar (or ¼ cup if using dried figs)

½ tablespoon fresh lavender buds or 1 teaspoon dried

Pinch of kosher salt

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. If using fresh figs, mash with a potato masher. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. If using dried figs, now you can mash with a potato masher or pulse in a food processor for a very smooth spread. Refrigerate the jam for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Recipes copyright 2016 by Fanny Slater from “Orange, Lavender & Figs,” published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

chris.ross@sduniontribune.com