THE BIG BRUNCH EDITION!

I just love love love a brunch. Here are seven - yes, SEVEN!! - of my favourite sweet and savoury brunch recipes

I’m big on breakfast. I love my morning ritual: I wake up around 6am and start my day with a glass of water that has a squeeze of lemon, trace minerals, and creatine in. Then I make myself a coffee – currently loving these Japanese coffees I picked up on my travel (I am a real coffee connoisseur so if you have any fresh coffee recommendations please let me know). I’ll do a shot of apple cider vinegar and take all of my supplements – a separate post on that coming soon – and then make breakfast for the family, then I crack on with some emails and get on with my day.

But lately my morning routine has been disturbed. But that’s what happens when it’s the school holidays and you have a teenager who likes to sleep in and wake up any time between 10am to 12pm. I’ve had to adapt around my 12-year old sleep monster. I thought I would have a meltdown without my diligent morning routine. What do you mean I can only have a quick breakfast snack or starve until the afternoon because It is still in bed? That will make my husband and I grouchy and grumpy and hangry? Must I then reschedule my calls and meetings so I have time to make breakfast for when It wakes up?

Well actually, we quite enjoyed having multiple brunches a week. It’s not something I usually do at home. Only when guests come over on the weekends or I might meet a friend out for brunch once in a while. Don’t get me wrong - it’s not that I never enjoyed a brunch, I think I just forgot how much I loved it as it feels like a bit of a luxury to have.

The thing I love about it is that you’re not confined to any one kind of food or a starter, main, and a sweet treat. You want eggs and bacon? A pasta salad? Some steak? A sarnie? A fruit tart? Chocolate cake? There are no rules! You can mix and match whatever you like and just call it brunch. (Yes, I am aware that it is breakfast + lunch together, but when you really think about it, it’s the creativity it opens up for you to cook and eat anything).

And usually my meals have a running theme – I wouldn’t normally mix an Italian dish with an Asian-inspired starter. However with brunch, I can do ANYTHING and satisfy all of my cravings in one sitting.

Brunch also seems to be a more sociable thing. Nobody meets for breakfast anymore. Well, not when you have kids and work, and even on the weekends everyone wants their morning to potter about and get house chores or grocery shopping done. But come 11am? I would welcome anyone over for a brunch – boozy or not. I do bloody love a Bloody Mary or Mimosa when I’m having brunch with friends. Makes it extra fancy.

Anyway I’ve made lots of different things for us. It’s been a fun summer of creating both sweet and savoury breakfast-y lunch-y things, but these are the ones that became a staple on my brunch menu…

Savoury French Toast with Courgette Tzatziki & Phukka Sprinkles

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the Toast:

• 1 large slice of bread, or 2 medium slices

• Olive oil, for frying

For the Batter:

• 2 large tbsp of Phyco Health Seaweed Phukka

• 50g plain or gluten-free flour

• 175g plant milk

• ½ tsp baking powder

• Pinch of salt

For the Courgette Tzatziki:

• 150g yoghurt, plant or dairy

• ½ courgette, grated

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• Juice of ¼ lemon

• Salt & pepper, to taste

For the Topping:

• 6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• Handful of micro greens

• 1 tbsp Phyco Health Seaweed Phukka

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, make the courgette tzatziki by adding the yoghurt, courgette, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together and mix until combined. Set aside.

2. To make the French toast batter, add the batter ingredients together in a flat-ish bowl and whisk until combined.

3. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan.

4. Dip the bread into the batter mix to coat it completely. Then place this into the frying pan, pouring any remaining batter mix on top and cook for a few minutes on each side until nice and browned and crispy.

5. When ready, place onto a serving plate and top with the tzatziki, tomatoes, and micro greens. Finally, sprinkle some more Phyco Health Seaweed Phukka on top to finish!

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Figgy French Toast

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Figgy French Toast:

• 2 large slices of sourdough bread

• pinch of coconut sugar or brown sugar

• 2 tbsp peanut butter

• 2 tbsp jam

• 2 tbsp vegan butter

• 4 figs, halved

For the Batter:

• 100g plain flour (or gluten free flour)

• 170ml plant milk (I like to use oat)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar

• pinch of salt

For Dressing:

• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• 1 tsp icing sugar

Method

1. Spread the peanut butter on 1 slice of bread and spread the jam on the other slice of bread. Close into a sandwich.

2. Add all the batter ingredients together in a large flat dish (big enough to lay the sandwich in) and whisk to combine.

3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, dip the sandwich in the batter to cover both sides of the bread, then gently lay it into the frying pan. Once browned on one side, flip it over. Whilst the second side is cooking, add the figs flat side down into the same frying pan, sprinkling them with some brown sugar to caramelise.

4. Once ready, remove everything from the pan, cut the bread into 4 pieces and place on a serving plate. Slice the caramelised figs in half again and dot them around the bread. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses, sprinkle with icing sugar, and enjoy!

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Sweet Potato Cakes with Dill and Cashew Yoghurt

Serves 2 (4 cakes)

Ingredients

For the dill cashew yoghurt

• 125 ml (4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) Cashew Yoghurt (see page 140 of Happy Food) or any plant yoghurt

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon chopped dill

• 1 tablespoon chopped capers

• pink Himalayan salt and black pepper, to taste

For the sweet potato cakes

• 2 sweet potatoes (500 g / 1 lb 2 oz), peeled and cut into chunks

• 1 shallot, finely diced

• 1 chilli, finely chopped

• 1/2 (70 g / 21/2 oz) apple, finely chopped

• 40 g (11/2 oz / 1/3 cup) cornflour

• coconut oil or grapeseed oil (both are good for high- temperature cooking), for frying

To serve

• watercress or spinach, rocket (arugula), mixed greens

Method

1. To make the dill cashew yoghurt – add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well, then set aside yoghurt in the fridge until later.

2. Boil the sweet potatoes in a pan of water until soft, then tip into a colander and leave to drain cakes for 10 minutes until really dry.

3. In a bowl, mash the drained potatoes with a fork or masher, but don’t over-mash them or they will become glutinous and too sticky.

4. Add the shallot, chilli, apple, salt and pepper to taste and finally the cornflour. Portion the mixture into 4 big cakes or 6 smaller ones and shape into round, flat-faced burgers.

5. In a medium pan, add some oil and get it very hot, then fry the cakes for 5–10 minutes on each side until golden brown. You will be tempted to keep flipping them, but don’t. Let one side cook first before flipping and cooking the other side. (If you do not want to fry the potato cakes, you can easily cook them in the oven at 200C (400oF/Gas 6) for 20 minutes or until golden brown.)

6. Drain on greaseproof paper (wax paper) or kitchen towel (paper towel) and serve with a good dollop of the dill yoghurt and some fresh greens.

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Baked Shakshuka With Butter Beans

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 80ml olive oil

• 1/2 red onion, chopped

• 1/2 red pepper, chopped

• 1/2 aubergine, chopped

• 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes

• 230g tinned butter beans

• 4 sundried tomatoes

• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

• Pinch of cayenne pepper

• Pink Himalayan salt & black pepper, to taste

To Serve

• Good-quality bread

• 1 avocado, sliced

• Dollops of plant yoghurt

• Handful of fresh basil

• Lemon wedges

• A few cherry tomatoes, to garnish (optional)

• A few endive leaves, to garnish (optional)

Method

1. In a medium pan, heat the oil & fry the onion, pepper & aubergine with a tiny pinch of salt for 10–15 minutes. It is important you use a good amount of oil here to get it going & to make sure that the veggies soften properly.

2. Then add the tomatoes, beans, sun-dried tomatoes & all the spices and seasoning, give it a good stir & leave on medium heat, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. Check on the mixture when the time is up, stir & leave for another 10 minutes. By now the shakshuka should be done, the liquid should have mostly cooked off & turned sticky & there should be a gorgeous smokey mixture in your pan.

4. Serve immediately from the pan with a good sprinkle of fresh basil, avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, endive leaves, homemade bread for dipping, with some plant yoghurt & lemon wedges to squeeze over.

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Savoury Beetroot Crepe

Serves 1-2

Ingredients

For the Crepe:

• 1 small raw beetroot (60g), peeled & roughly chopped

• 100g plain white flour

• 200ml milk, plant or regular

• Large pinch of salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• Olive oil, for frying

For the Filling:

• 2 tbsp hummus

• 90g tenderstem broccoli, blanched

• 1 spring onion, sliced

• 1 small avocado, sliced

• 1 baby cucumber, sliced

• 1 radish, sliced

• Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• Handful of spinach leaves

• Drizzle of olive oil

• Pinch of flavoured sea salt (e.g. chilli or smoked)

Method

1. Add the beetroot, flour, milk, salt & baking powder to a food processor and blitz to combine, forming a bright purple pancake mixture.

2. Heat the Stellar Crepe Pan over medium heat with a small amount of olive oil, then pour in a thin layer of the crepe mixture. Heat for a couple of minutes until cooked underneath, then flip to cook on the other side.

3. When ready, place the crepe onto a serving plate, spread some hummus onto the crepe, then add the tenderstem broccoli, spring onion, cucumber, radish, cherry tomatoes and avocado.

4. Then drizzle with olive oil and top with spinach leaves and flavoured sea salt, serve and enjoy!

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Tomato & Spinach Pie

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 450 grams of buckwheat flour

• 100 ml of olive oil

• 354 ml of water approximately more or less to get the dough together

• Salt & pepper

For a Vegan Filling:

• 2 packets of tofu

• 250 ml of plant milk (any variant works, just try to go for unsweetened)

• 2tbsp of flax seeds

• 1tbsp of turmeric

• Salt & pepper to taste

For a Non-Vegan Filling (choose which you prefer!):

• 500g of thick cream

• 6 eggs

• 1tbs of turmeric

• Salt & pepper to taste

Save for last:

• Chopped chives

• 1 handful of spinach

• 2 punnets of cherry tomatoes halved

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Start off with making your dough. Add all the dough ingredients into a large bowl and start to combine. Keep kneading in the bowl until it is well incorporated. Add more water if required. Once combined, remove to a lightly flour-dusted surface and knead out all the lumps and bumps until you have a lovely firm and smooth dough ball. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes on the side – do not place in the fridge.

2. To make your filling – combine all the ingredients of your preferred version (either vegan or non-vegan) into a blender and blitz until smooth and set aside.

3. By this time your dough will have rested. Sprinkle some more flour on a dry work surface and put your beautifully formed dough on the table and start rolling it out with a rolling pin one bit at a time. If needed add extra sprinkles of flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking. Once you have rolled it out to your desired size, slowly loosen it up from the work surface ready to transfer to your pie form. I like to grease the pan with some olive oil.

4. Gently lay the dough into your form and start shaping accordingly on the sides. If there are bits missing add them with the overflow of dough that you might have in other areas.

5. Push gently with a fork on the sides and puncture the dough at the bottom so that it can cook evenly. Put the pie crust in the oven for 10 minutes to pre-cook before filling it.

6. While the pie is cooking prepare your cherry tomatoes by giving them a wash, patting them dry and chopping in half.

7. Once the pie crust is light brown and half cooked it is ready to be filled. Add a handful of chopped spinach into the casing. Pour in your pre-made pie filling and make sure that it’s even across the entire case. Give it an extra sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then add your half cherry tomato halves. Once everything is in the pie casing cook in the oven for another 20 -25 minutes until the filling is firm and tomatoes have a beautiful glaze.

8. Add some extra sprinkles of chilli if you wish and serve with a big salad.

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Chocolate Tahini Blondies

Serves 9

Ingredients

• 1 tin of chickpeas (drained)

• 140g tahini (light)

• 80g soft brown sugar

• 30ml maple syrup

• 250ml plant milk

• 30ml coconut oil, melted (if you don’t want coconut taste, buy odourless)

• 70g self raising flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• pinch of salt

• 100g dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Put all the ingredients into a blender except the chocolate chips, and blitz until combined.

3. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir through most of the chocolate chips, leaving a few for the topping.

4. Line a square baking tray with greaseproof paper, pour in the mixture and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.

5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Once cooled, slice into squares.

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It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to regular brunches. I’m grateful for the lazy and slow mornings we’ve had while it’s been the school holidays. Usually breakfasts are quick while we rush around for her to get to school on time and for me to get to work. But brunch has allowed us to sit around the table and have a proper meal where we chat and debrief. Perhaps I’ll find time to do more of this on the weekends again.

And to my daughter – if you’re reading this, I promise never to call you It again.

Love, Bettina xo