The Perfect Start to Your Day E-Book

Tonia George

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 157

Beschreibung

For many, a nourishing breakfast is the best meal of the day, and on the weekends when the pace of life slows down, there's nothing better than an indulgent brunch. This book is packed with fresh, tasty ideas for all sorts of treats – whether you're grabbing a quick bite or entertaining friends with a weekend brunch feast. Drinks such as a Cashew Nut & Mango Smoothie will prepare you for the day ahead. For slow-release energy, try Fruit, Grains & Oats like Pink Grapefruit with Vanilla Sugar or Deep Coconut & Sour Cherry Oaty Bars. Nothing says brunch quite like Eggs. Omelette with Chives & Gruyère is perfect for eating in bed on a day off. For those with a sweet tooth, Pastries & Bakes are sure to satisfy. Exploding Berry Crumble Muffins are ideal for mid-morning guests, while Pancakes & Waffles, like popular Blueberry Pancakes will please both adults and kids. Those with big appetites will welcome Mains, such as Corn Cakes with Bacon & Avocado, or Steak & Fried Egg Rolls with Mustard Butter from the Sandwiches, Salads & Sides chapter. Use up seasonal fruit by making Preserves: homemade Passionfruit Curd will turn your morning toast into something divine.

Leseprobe

THE

PERFECT START

to YOUR DAY

THE

PERFECT START

to YOUR DAY

NOURISHING & INDULGENT RECIPES FOR BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

TONIA GEORGE

photography by Jonathan Gregson

Senior designer Megan Smith

Senior editor Céline Hughes

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Creative director Leslie Harrington

Editorial director Julia Charles

Food stylist Tonia George

Prop stylist Liz Belton

Assistant food stylist Siobhan Boyle

Indexer Hilary Bird

Originally published in 2012. This revised edition published in 2024 by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th St

NewYork, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Tonia George 2012, 2024 Design and photography © Ryland Peters & Small 2012, 2024

ISBN: 978-1-78879-602-6

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-632-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data has been applied for.

Printed and bound in China

Notes

•The recipes in this book are given in both metric and imperial measurements plus US cups for convenience. Please note that the spellings are primarily British.

• All spoon measurements are level, unless otherwise specified.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperature. Recipes in this book were tested using a regular oven. If using a fan oven, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting temperatures.

• Recipes containing raw or partially cooked egg, or raw fish or shellfish, should not be served to the very young, very old, anyone with a compromised immune system or pregnant women.

• Sterilize preserving jars before use. Wash them in hot, soapy water and rinse in boiling water. Place in a large saucepan, then cover with hot water. With the lid on, bring the water to the boil and continue boiling for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, then leave the jars in the hot water until just before they are to be filled. Invert the jars onto clean kitchen paper to dry. Sterilize the lids for 5 minutes, by boiling, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Jars should be filled and sealed while they are still hot.

Contents

Rise & Shine!

Drinks

Fruit, Grains & Oats

Eggs

Pastries & Bakes

Pancakes & Waffles

Mains

Sandwiches, Salads & Sides

Preserves

Index

Rise & shine!

Breakfast is by far and away my favourite meal of the day, which is ironic because mornings are probably my least favourite time of the day. Some days the thought of a frothy mocha and a slab of sourdough toast slathered in peanut butter is the only incentive there is to throw back the duvet and face the world.

And if it’s difficult enough to force yourself out of bed, it’s an even tougher job luring other grumpy heads out of their warm, cosy slumber. That must be why typical breakfast and brunch dishes are so full of vibrant flavours; salty bacon, sweet ambrosial maple syrup, creamy eggs, steaming coffee, voluptuous yogurt and zingy fruits. I defy anyone to sleep on contentedly once the smoky aromas of bacon frying and toast turning golden creep up their nostrils.

Some days the thought of a frothy mocha and a slab of toast slathered in peanut butter is the only incentive there is to throw back the duvet and face the world.

Rushing out of the house with an empty tummy is never a good idea. Miss breakfast and research shows that you’re more likely to suffer poor concentration and a slump in energy levels. Eating also kickstarts your metabolism and stabilizes blood sugar levels, so skipping a meal in the hope of saving on a few calories is counterproductive. Armed with the many recipes in this book, there really is no excuse. There are lots of quick ideas for rushed weekday mornings when everything seems to conspire against letting you leave the house on time, from Nutty Honey Granola (page 33) and Rhubarb & Orange Compote (page 29), to a five-minute Banana, Honey & Wheatgerm Lassi (page 18) which can be wolfed down in a flash. Some you’ll need to prepare on the weekend, but they promise to see you right through the week.

I have always been a huge fan of breakfast. When I was younger my mother made me toast before school every single morning – always one with Marmite and one with marmalade. If we were late for school the toast would be finished in the car. But when the weekend came around it was a different story. The whole family wandered about in their dressing gowns in a well-rehearsed formation, each with their own job: the chief toast maker, someone to make the coffee, and another at the stove turning slices of bacon and links of sausages until the table was groaning with food.

On birthdays and Mother’s Day the mornings would stretch a little further, sometimes into the afternoon. After appetites had been whetted with Buck’s Fizz, we would dig into bowls of Greek yogurt scattered with pecans, drizzled with honey and topped with chunks of tropical fruit. After a short break we’d be back for Blueberry Pancakes (page 89), light and fluffy enough to absorb twice their weight of maple syrup, or sometimes a buttery Smoked Haddock Kedgeree (page 113) hiding lovely chunks of fresh fish and still-soft boiled egg.

Breakfast stirs up cosy, nostalgic memories evoking hearth and home, and having someone cook it for you makes you feel nurtured.

It’s very insightful to see how people start their days. There are those that go for the sugar and caffeine rush of a coffee and a pastry, others who need a plateful of eggs and sausages alongside mountains of toast, and plenty of others still that dare not deviate from their more virtuous bowl of oats. I’ve included recipes to please all of you, from hurried weekday breakfasts to leisurely weekend brunches. In fact a weekend brunch is a good chance to try some of the more eclectic dishes. After the repetitive rhythm of the week, it’s a time when I like to explore what other cultures eat. In England we’ve been doing this since the Victorian times, when kedgeree was introduced to the breakfast table from India. Likewise, in California, Huevos Rancheros (page 49) has now become a staple brunch fixture. There are many other dishes that I have borrowed for this book, such as Spain’s delicious cinnamon sugar-coated Churros (page 78), and the Scandinavian Gravadlax (page 119), to modern Australian classics such as Corn Cakes with Bacon & Avocado (page 106) born of a love for fresh ingredients.

Of course, I’m very particular about what goes on my breakfast plate, and I find that most people are. Eggs must be cooked to perfection – for me this means they need to ooze with an ocherous yolk but for others any trace of wobble will have been left far behind. My bacon needs to be so crisp that it snaps, but you might find it too dry like this. And whereas some balk at the marriage of sweet maple syrup with smoky bacon, I couldn’t imagine life without it. So feel free to adapt the recipes to suit your own set of foibles; that’s exactly what makes us who we are.

More than any other meal, I’ve also noticed how breakfast turns grown adults back into fussy children. Look at the way people cling to their favourite childhood cereal all through their adult life, and never lose the wide-eyed pleasure at seeing a stack of pancakes dripping with butter. Breakfast stirs up cosy, nostalgic memories evoking hearth and home, and having someone cook it for you makes you feel nurtured. This is what makes it a special meal.

I also find brunching to be a rather intimate ritual. Sharing your morning meal tends to be reserved for partners and family and so brunch is where friendships are cemented and intimate secrets spilled. You might breakfast alone, but it’s never okay to brunch alone. Perhaps this is the only real difference in breakfasting and brunching, because after all, when exactly does a breakfast become a brunch? Does it depend on what, when or how much you eat? Is anything more than three slices of toast after noon considered brunch? There is no definitive answer. The actual term was recorded by Guy Beringer in his visionary article ‘Brunch: A plea’ published in Hunter’s Weekly in 1895. He makes a case for replacing the post-hunt meal with a multi-course feast starting with more breakfast-friendly fare. ‘Brunch is cheerful, sociable and compelling… and sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week’, he wrote. It caught on in affluent social circles, but wasn’t fully embraced until it crossed the Atlantic in the 1930s, where it took off as an indulgent Mother’s Day treat.

Even now ‘doing brunch’ implies a certain amount of hedonism. Stretching the morning meal into the afternoon hours usually comes about after an eventful evening which has encroached upon your night of sleep. This is what feels so decadent about brunch. It defies convention and is full of contradictions: you can ignore alarm clocks, eat something sweet before your savoury course, enjoy cake before noon and have a cocktail alongside a boiled egg. It is truly a time when you can do what you want to rather than what you should do – a sentiment that very much appeals as I roll over, smile contentedly and switch off my bleeping alarm clock on a Saturday morning.

drinks

Carrot, apple & ginger juice Pear, kiwi & apple juiceBasil limeade Pineapple & mint agua fresca Pomegranate & orange sunriseBanana, honey & wheatgerm lassi Cashew nut & mango smoothie Raspberry, strawberry & orange juiceBloody mary Sea breeze Blood orange & campari mimosaLemon & sage tisane Real hot chocolate Spiced mocha

Carrot, apple & ginger juice

There is something about this blend of fruit and vegetables that feels so extremely virtuous and cleansing. It is very thirst-quenching as well, especially when served really well chilled. Great for a hangover.

4 carrots

2 apples, quartered

3 cm/1½ in. fresh ginger ice, to serve

juicer

SERVES 2

Pass the pears, kiwis and apples through a juicer, one at a time, into a jug. Add enough ice for 2 people and serve.

Pear, kiwi & apple juice

Kiwis are my secret weapon against colds, being rich in vitamin C. They are sharp and sweet, and mixed with the mellower flavours of pears and apples they make a really gorgeous early-morning juice.

3 pears, quartered

3 kiwi fruit, quartered

1 apple, quartered

ice, to serve

juicer

SERVES 2

Pass the carrots, apples and ginger through a juicer, one at a time, into a jug. Add enough ice for 2 people and serve.

Basil limeade

If I’m having a brunch gathering then this basil limeade is what I serve to guests. The amount of lime and sugar is a personal thing, so I suggest you adjust it to taste, adding more of one or the other as necessary. There will be guests who will appreciate a cheeky dash of cachaça rum in theirs for a caipirinha-style cocktail.

225 ml/1 scant cup lime juice (from about 10 limes)

75 g/⅓ cup packed light brown sugar

a handful of fresh basil leaves

2 handfuls of ice

250 ml/1 cup soda water

4–6 cocktail glasses, chilled in the freezer for 1 hour

SERVES 4–6

Put the lime juice, sugar and basil in a blender (one that is able to crush ice) and blend until smooth. Add the ice and blend briefly to break up the ice cubes. Pour into the cocktail glasses and top up with the soda water.

Basil limeade

Pineapple & mint agua fresca

Refreshing agua fresca is found all over Mexico. The name literally means ‘cold water’ and it can be any fruit (or even another ingredient such as tamarind or rice and milk) blended with ice, sugar and water. The idea is that it is cooling and rehydrating on a hot day. Serve it as a whipped fruit frappé just with ice, or as a sparkling drink mixed with soda water.

100 g/½ cup granulated sugar

a smallish pineapple (about 700 g/1¾ lbs.), peeled and cored

a small handful of fresh mint leaves, plus extra to serve

ice, to serve

600 ml/2⅓ cups chilled soda water (optional)

SERVES 4–8

Put the sugar and 100 ml/½ cup water in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool while you cut the pineapple into rough chunks. Put the pineapple in a blender with the mint and the cooled syrup. Blend until smooth. Divide between 4 tumblers with a scoop of ice in each one, or 8 tall glasses and top up with ice and the soda water.

Pomegranate & orange sunrise

A twist on the usual tequila sunrise, mine is made with the newly fashionable pomegranate juice which adds a twist of bitterness to cut through the natural sweetness of orange juice. I sometimes add a shot of Campari to the pomegranate juice too, but this makes it an entirely different kind of morning!

ice, to serve

500 ml/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

200 ml/¾ cup pure pomegranate juice

SERVES 2

Half fill 2 tumblers with ice and top up with orange juice so they are two-thirds full. Pour the pomegranate juice slowly down the side of the glass so it sinks to the bottom. Serve straightaway with a cocktail stirrer.

Banana, honey & wheatgerm lassi

Some mornings I need a smoothie which is a meal in itself, especially if I am awake early and can’t face eating. With the added bite of the wheatgerm, this lassi fits the bill. Lassi is a cooling Indian drink which can be sweet or savoury. In the summer I add a handful of ice before blending it for a more chilled drink. If you like ripe bananas, let the skins become speckled for a more intense experience.

2 bananas, peeled

2 teaspoons clear honey

100 g/½ cup plain yogurt

150 ml/⅔ cup whole milk

1 tablespoon wheatgerm or wheat bran

SERVES 2

Put the bananas, honey, yogurt and milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add a little more honey if you think it needs it. Stir in the wheatgerm and blend briefly just to mix. Divide between 2 tall glasses and serve with straws big enough for the wheatgerm not to cause blockages.

Cashew nut & mango smoothie

It’s easy to forget how milky blended cashew nuts are, but they do make brilliant dairy-free smoothies. I like to blend mine with mango as it results in a super-thick smoothie verging on dessert territory. You could also use soft berries or bananas.

50 g/⅓ cup shelled cashew nuts, soaked overnight in cold water

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon linseed

SERVES 2

Drain the cashew nuts and put in a blender with 150 ml/⅔ cup water. Blend until you have a smooth, nutty milk. Add the chopped mango. Blend again, then stir in the linseed. Divide between 2 tumblers and serve.

Raspberry, strawberry & orange juice

I like to keep raspberries in my freezer for a rainy day as they add body to smoothies as well as a sharp burst of fruity flavour. There’s no need to add ice, as the raspberries will make the drink lovely and icy for you.

125 g/1 cup frozen raspberries

125 g/1 cup strawberries, hulled

400 ml/1⅔ cups freshly squeezed orange juice

SERVES 2–4

Put the raspberries, strawberries and orange juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Divide between 2–4 tumblers and serve.

Raspberry, strawberry & orange juice; Banana, honey & wheatgerm lassi; and Cashew nut & mango smoothie (left to right)

Bloody mary

There’s nothing like a good Bloody Mary after a late night: it seems to get the blood pumping and cure any feelings of drowsiness. If you want a Virgin Mary leave out the vodka but squeeze in some more lime so you get more of a tang in it.

150 ml/⅔ cup vodka

450 ml/1⅔ cups pure tomato juice

½teaspoon hot horseradish sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

4 dashes Tabasco sauce

¼ teaspoon celery salt

½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 limes, cut into small wedges

ice, to serve

SERVES 4

Mix all the ingredients together in a jug. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary, adding more heat, pepper or lime as you wish. Add a couple of handfuls of ice and serve with a stack of tumblers.

Sea breeze

This is a great morning drink for summer. Simple to make and really refreshing but a few glasses will make you feel pleasantly sleepy, so watch you don’t end up crawling back into bed.

a handful of ice

150 ml/⅔ cup pure pink grapefruit juice

300 ml/1⅓ cups pure cranberry juice

100 ml/½ cup vodka

1 lime, cut into wedges

cocktail shaker

SERVES 2

Put the ice in the cocktail shaker along with the juices and vodka. Squeeze over a couple of lime wedges. Put the top on the shaker and shake a few times. Strain into 2 tall glasses and add a lime wedge to each before serving.

Blood orange & campari mimosa

Mimosa or Buck’s Fizz is a standard offering at brunch gatherings, but this one is different. The Campari and blood orange make it a little bitter, and this really whets the appetite. If anyone needs his or hers sweetened – not everyone gets the bitter thing – add a dash of agave syrup or honey and serve with a cocktail stirrer.

500 ml/2 cups pure blood orange juice

2 tablespoons Campari

750-ml bottle sparkling white wine, chilled

SERVES 4

Divide the blood orange juice between 4 champagne flutes. Add a dash of Campari to each one, then top up with the wine.

Blood orange & campari mimosa

Lemon & sage tisane

A tisane is a herbal tea, made strictly without real tea. Instead it is made by infusing herbs, spices or any aromatics in hot water. My lemony tisane infused with sage is a great drink for the morning – it will brighten your eyes and leave your face with a warm glow, if nothing else.

a small handful of fresh sage leaves

1 lemon

600 ml/2½ cups boiling water

1–2 teaspoons honey, to taste

SERVES 2

Put the sage leaves in a teapot. Using a potato peeler, pare off the lemon zest leaving behind the white pith underneath. Add this to the teapot. Halve the slightly naked-looking lemon and squeeze out all its juice, then set aside. Pour the boiling water over the leaves and zest and let steep for 3–5 minutes, depending on how strong you like it. Pour into 2 mugs and add lemon juice and honey to taste.

Real hot chocolate

Once you have had proper hot chocolate there is no going back I’m afraid. Pick a really good cooking chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids to make this, so that you get a really chocolatey flavour.

500 ml/2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla pod/bean, split lengthways