5 Inspiring Breakfast & Brunch Ideas

I’m not a chilled-out morning person. There’s always too much to do, even on the weekend. But if I don’t have my morning fuel, I end up demolishing lunch by 11am, which leaves me out of kilter for the rest of the day. Recently, I’ve rectified my skipping-breakfast habit and have been making flavour-packed nutritious brekkies. Breakfast can, of course, be healthy and indulgent – even midweek. Here are some bright and breezy ways to kick-start the day. 

1. Boiled Eggs & Smashed Avo 

INGREDIENTS
Eggs
Avocado
Chilli
Spring onions or red onions
Lime
Salt
Pepper
Rye or sourdough bread

METHOD
In a bowl, mash ripe avocado and add chilli, lime and an allium (finely sliced spring onions or red onions). Season and taste. I’d have suggested poached egg for this but the jury is out on how many of you want to poach. My perfect boiled eggs are simmered in hot water for 3 minutes. Then I turn off the heat and leave them in the hot water for a further 3 minutes. Plunge into cold to remove the egg shell. Spread the avo on your bread and pile over your boiled eggs in slices. Bread recommendation? Rye or sourdough. 

2. Pre-Prepped Greek Yoghurt With Berries, Oats & Pistachios

INGREDIENTS
Berries
Oats
Apples
Greek yoghurt
Caster sugar
Lemon or lime juice
Cinnamon powder
Unsalted pistachios

METHOD
Make one large batch of this and you’ve three breakfasts ready to wolf down through the week. Heat your fruit with a little caster sugar and lemon or lime juice to make a sauce. Mix it with 3 handfuls of oats, 1-2 grated apples and Greek yoghurt. The next day, when ready to eat, mix in a pinch of cinnamon powder and a tablespoon of fresh Greek yoghurt. Spoon into a bowl. Serve with crushed unsalted pistachios on top.

3. Dishoom-Style Bacon Naan With Chilli Sauce

This is the queen of the breakfast table. Anyone who has had the noble bacon naan at Dishoom will know what I’m talking about. The panoply of spices, tomato sauce, cream cheese and salty bacon, slotted into a gaspingly fresh naan, is hedonism on the plate. For my loosely inspired version, get the freshest bread and the best-quality bacon you can find (free range, RSPCA assured).

INGREDIENTS
Bacon
Naan
Tomatoes
Chilli
Sugar
Salt
Vinegar
Cumin
Fennel seeds
Cream cheese
Coriander

METHOD
Simmer the tomatoes and chilli; add a pinch of sugar, a little salt and a teaspoon of vinegar. I like sizzled cumin and even a sprinkling of fennel seeds in mine. (Try tomatoes on their own with fennel seeds one day and you’ll not be able to ignore this blissful marriage.) Fry the bacon. With the fresh bread in one hand, spread in a generous amount of cream cheese, then the tomato chilli sauce and the bacon. Sprinkle in some fresh coriander. Sigh with delight. If anyone in your household has an insatiable appetite, a poached egg can be added to the fanfare.

4. Cheffy Scrambled Eggs

INGREDIENTS
Eggs
Butter
Salt

METHOD
The secret here is to be equable with your eggs.  Be gentle and use a low heat. There’s no need to beat in advance; just break them into the pan with a knob of butter. With a wooden spoon, do some slow stirs. You can leave them for a few seconds to emulsify, creating thicker curds. Just don’t ever go off to make toast – your guest will have to do that. Add a pinch of salt. When you think the eggs are nearly finished – but not quite – remove them from the heat as they will continue cooking. Serve. 

5. Coconut Pancakes 

INGREDIENTS
150g of self-raising flour
1 large egg
150ml of milk or coconut milk
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of cinnamon powder
50-60g desiccated coconut, powdered

METHOD
I love a pancake, whether small and fluffy or large and freckled. For these American-style pancakes, mix the eggs, milk and flour until you’ve formed a batter. Add cinnamon powder and desiccated coconut (blitzed first into a powder). To cook, heat oil in a pan, place a tablespoon of batter in it and cook until golden on each side. This season is all about the plum so, for a fruit injection, chop some plums, cook in butter and pile on top.