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Eggy bread with cheddar
Take a couple of slices of thick country bread and spread a little English mustard on them. Place a large slice of mature cheddar in between and close into a sandwich. Whisk together 1 egg with 1/4 cup milk and dip in the sandwich on both sides till the liquid is well-absorbed. Melt a little butter in a pan and fry on both sides till nicely golden. Slice in half and serve.
A sort of Mexican breakfast
A really fresh and zesty breakfast option (or brunch) to set you up for a busy weekend day.
Finely chop 1 small ripe tomato and place in a bowl along with the juice of 1/2 lime and 1 finely chopped spring onion (white part only). Set aside.
In a hot pan place a corn tortilla, cover with a slice of cheddar cheese, sprinkle on a little chilli powder and cover with a second corn tortilla. Press down with a spatula to seal and fry till golden on both sides and the cheese has started to melt. Transfer the quesadilla to a cutting board.
In the same pan add a drizzle of olive oil and a handful of sliced swiss chard and/or spring onion greens. Stir fry till wilted. Move to the side of the pan and add two eggs and fry till set. Season with sea salt.
Serve the eggs, alongside the chard, salsa, corn tortilla (cut into wedges) with a spoonful of sour cream (optional).
Pikelets with bacon and maple syrup
These Australian-style pancakes are a cute alternative to the traditional pancake as the batter is “dropped” into the pan, forming into slightly irregular shapes. Served alongside some crisp streaky bacon and some Canadian maple syrup you have a perfect sweet and salty breakfast combo.
Mix together 140g self-raising flour, a pinch of salt and 2 tbs sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together 2 eggs, 180ml milk and 1 tsp melted butter (or oil). Stir into the flour mixture till well combined.
Heat a non-stick pan with a little butter or oil and drop spoonfuls of the batter in the pan. Cook for a couple minutes till bubbles appear on the surface and the base is golden. Flip over and cook till lightly golden on the other side.
Keep in a warm oven till you have finished all the batter. Meanwhile, fry up some streaky bacon till golden and crisp and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
Serve the warm pikelets alongside the bacon and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.
Serve 3 hungry people.
Cinnamon French toast bites
Sometimes the best culinary ideas happen by accident. Say you have some leftover, stale, bite-sized squares of a country loaf (which you served on New Year’s with the cheese fondue) and you are about to throw them out, when you have the brainwave to add them to a mixture of an egg or two and a dash of milk, turning them around till the liquid is all absorbed. Add a dollop of butter into a pan, and when it just starts to sizzle add the the bread pieces and fry till golden on all sides. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and sea salt and turn in the heat for another minute before piling onto a plate and serving with a drizzle of maple syrup.
It’s as if you’ve taken the best bit of the French toast (those crispy, golden edges) and made this breakfast all about that.
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Omelette with soft cheese and chives
This is a quick and delicious recipe - the soft, tart cheese offsetting the richness of the eggs brilliantly. Worth a couple of attempts to get the omelette technique down right - then it should be clear sailing all the way.
In a small, non-stick frying pan add a little rapeseed oil and spread across the pan using a kitchen towel. Place on a medium heat and add three eggs. Using a heat-proof spatula start scrambling them in the pan to mix the yolks and white together. Draw in the uncooked edges as well. Then, once the mixture is half-cooked, leave the bottom to set and add dollops of soft cheese (Philadelphia will do) and chopped chives to the centre.
Once the omelette is done (some like it more wobbly than others) flip over the edge (the one closest to the handle of the pan) into the centre of the omelette. Now slide onto a plate, folding the omelette over the other, open side.
Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
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Ricotta fritters
This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver and is the best little recipe for ultra-fresh ricotta cheese.
In a bowl, mix together 450g fresh ricotta cheese, 2 tbs grated parmesan, 2 tbs flour, 1 egg, and some sea salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge for a few minutes.
Warm a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the ricotta cakes in batches of heaping tablespoons and flip over when golden using a spatula. These are very delicate so give yourself some space between the fritters in the pan so it is easier to flip them over.
Serve straight away, either as a savoury dish with a little side salad of cherry tomatoes, basil and olive oil, or serve for breakfast with a drizzle of maple syrup or some granulated sugar.
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The Breakfast Club: Kedgeree with a poached egg on top
In a pot place 1 cup brown basmati rice with 2 cups water, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered. Meanwhile, place a 250g fillet of smoked haddock in a pan and just cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the fish from the pan (retain the water for later), remove the skin, and flake. Slowly fry 1 large shallot (or small onion) in a little butter till softened. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tbs curry powder. Stir around briefly and remove from heat. Poach 2-3 eggs(this recipe serves 2-3, so count 1 egg per person). I love these poach pods.
Now add the fish, the shallot, 1/2 cup frozen peas, and the juice of 1 lemon to the rice. You can moisten the mixture with the cooking water from the fish to loosen the rice (it should be quite unctious), and finish with 1 tbs cream and a seasoning of sea salt and pepper.
Serve with the poached egg on top.
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The Breakfast Club: Avocado & scramble egg tortilla
In a small pan wiped with a little cooking oil, break two eggs and add a small handful of grated white cheese. Scramble the eggs on medium heat till they reach the desired consistency. Stir in 4-6 quartered cherry tomatoes. Season with sea salt, pepper and a little chilli sauce. Pile into 3-4 corn tortillas, warmed (either in the microwave or in a dry, covered pan on the hob), add a slice of avocado and a squeeze of lime.
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Bloody Gazpacho
In a small pitcher stir together the following (ingredients are per person): 40ml vodka, 100ml gazpacho, 1 tsp horseradish cream, a few drops Worcestershire sauce, a few drops Tabasco (I prefer Sriracha), a pinch of Japanese pepper (Sansyo), a squeeze of lemon, and a few drops of celery bitters (for instance Bitter Truth). Pour into a tumbler filled with ice and garnish with a slice of tomato and a pimiento olive.
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Scrambled eggs with pancetta
This takes all of 5 minutes to prepare - so is a perfect option for a lazy weekend morning.
In a small pan place 35g (1/4 cup) of chopped pancetta (I buy them ready-packed in the supermarket - otherwise French lardon or English bacon will do fine) with a knob of butter and fry till golden. In the meantime, break a couple of eggs (I like Burford Brown as the yolks are so rich and deep yellow) into a bowl and add a dash of milk. Beat with a whisk till the eggs start to foam (a couple of minutes).
Remove the pancetta with a slotted spatula and transfer to a plate. While the pan is still hot pour in the egg mixture and let sit 15 seconds. Now immediately turn the heat down to low and using a heat-proof spatula (or wooden spoon) stir the eggs around till set to desired level of wobbliness. Mix in the pancetta and a squeeze of chilli sauce (optional), as well as some sea salt and pepper.
Serve with a sprinkling of chives on two slices of toasted bread.
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Baked French Toast
This is fab for those not so keen on cooking first thing on a lazy weekend morning. Everything is prepared the night before and then popped into the oven straight from the fridge the next morning.
Cut thick (1-inch) diagonal slices into a soft-crust loaf of bread (it can be anywhere between fresh and stale) - around 10 slices. Generously butter a baking dish and one side of each slice and place in the baking dish ((one which fits the slices very snuggly - squeezed together if necessary). Whisk together 3 large eggs and 300ml milk and 1/4 tsp salt and pour over the bread. Chill, covered between 1 and 24hrs (till all the liquid is absorbed).
Take out of the fridge, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 175c till the top is golden (20-25 min). Serve with maple syrup (of course).
You can of course pan fry the slices in a little butter and vegetable oil instead if you can’t be bothered with the oven.
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Breakfast Quesadilla
In a small pan over a medium heat layer the folllowing: 1 small corn tortilla, a thin spread of adobe chili paste*, then some grated white cheese (cheddar will do fine), a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, a scattering of grilled asparagus spears cut into chunks (or a handful of fresh baby spinach) then top with another small corn tortilla and press down using the back of a large metal spatula. When the bottom tortilla starts to brown and the cheese to melt, carefully flip over and continue cooking till brown on both sides.
Transfer to a serving dish, cut into wedges and serve with additional sour cream or creme fraiche.
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*my chipotle paste: simply blitz up a can of chipotle in adobo sauce.
Corn fritters with avocado salsa
This is inspired (taken from) Peter Gordon’s Providores cafe/restaurant in Marylebone, London. A fabulous place to waste away the weekend - moving from late morning coffee (courtesy of Monmouth Coffee), to corn fritters, to wine, to dessert, etc. Don’t be put off by the savoury mix of flavours - this is a great and classic brunch dish.
In a food processor place 525g fresh (or canned) corn kernels, 1 small red onion chopped, 2 eggs, 15g chopped coriander leaves or chives, 125 g flour, 1tsp baking powder, some salt and some pepper. Pulse till combined (but ensure you can still see bits of corn).
Heat up a pan with 1 tbs vegetable oil. Drop two tbs corn batter at a time into the pan (I like to use an ice cream scoop). Keep them well spaced from each other. Turn over after a minute or so (till golden on each side). Transfer to a warm oven while you finish up all the batter.
Serve with an avocado salsa made by mixing together 2 ripe avocados, diced, 1 quartered, deseeded and chopped tomato, 2 tbs lemon or lime juice, a dash of Tabasco (optional), some sea salt and pepper.
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Montreal bagels from St.Viateur
St. Viateur bagels (named after the street in Montreal where this bakery first opened in 1957) are hands down the best bagels in the world (and I’m not interested in hearing arguments to the contrary). Briefly boiled then baked in a wood-burning oven - these bagels are particularly dense and chewy and are at their best when toasted (unless of course you can’t wait till you get home and eat them still warm from the oven). Definitely worth a detour of any length.
I like them best as follows: a toasted sesame bagel, spread with good quality cream cheese and a dash of pepper. If you like you can add a few slices of smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon. Or if you want to go all out - add a couple slices of red onions and some chopped capers.
