Rick Bayless’s ‘morning after’ taco
Serves 1
bacon fat, butter or olive oil 1 tbsp
egg 1
sun-dried tomato 2 or 3 pieces, finely chopped
bacon 1 strip, diced
Mexican queso fresco 1 tsp, crumbled, or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat’s
Mexican hot sauce 1-2 tsp
avocado ¼, diced
coriander leaves 3-4, for garnish
warm corn tortilla 1
Set a 25cm nonstick frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon fat (or one of its stand-ins). Crack the egg straight into the pan. Using a spoon, gently break up the egg yolk. As the egg cooks, sprinkle on the sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, cheese and hot sauce. Remove from the heat and add the avocado and coriander.
Slide the garnished egg on to a warm tortilla and greet the morning (or afternoon – we don’t judge).
Rick Bayless is a Chicago chef and restaurateur; rickbayless.com
Blanche Vaughan’s omelette Arnold Bennett
The omelette that the writer Arnold Bennett asked the chef at the Savoy to make for him was prepared a little differently to this, but I’d like to thank him all the same for the inspiration.
Serves 4–6
For the poached haddock
smoked haddock fillet 300g
milk 300ml
cloves 2
peppercorns ½ tsp
bay leaf 1
parsley stalks a small bunch
onion 1 , thickly sliced
lemon zest 3 strips
For the bechamel
butter 25g
plain flour 20g
lemon zest of 1
flat-leaf parsley 1 tbsp, finely chopped
tarragon leaves 6, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the omelette
butter 10g
eggs 6, lightly beaten
parmesan 20g, grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut the haddock fillet into three pieces so that it will fit comfortably in a medium pan. Pour over the milk; add the rest of the poaching ingredients. Bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked; this should take 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.
Remove the haddock with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the milk into a jug, discarding the solid remains.
Now make the sauce. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat, add the flour and cook for a minute so it starts to bubble and become slightly nutty. Pour the warm reserved milk in the pan and give it a good whisk. Bring it to the boil and cook for a minute, whisking, until it thickens to a smooth sauce.
Flake the poached haddock fillet and add to the sauce with the lemon zest and chopped herbs. Stir well and taste for seasoning – the haddock will be fairly salty but you will need to add some black pepper. (Up to this point, everything can be done in advance.)
Preheat the grill to its highest setting.
Melt the butter in a medium-sized omelette pan or ovenproof frying pan. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and when the butter is foaming, pour the eggs into the pan and tilt to cover the surface of the pan.
Agitate it lightly with a fork to move the eggs over the heat of the pan. When it starts to set, lift up the sides, tilting the pan so the uncooked mixture flows underneath. The omelette will become gently ruckled. When there is just a small amount of uncooked mixture on the top, remove from the heat.
Spread the haddock mixture over the top of the omelette and scatter over the parmesan. Place under the hot grill for 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned.
From Egg by Blanche Vaughan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £22)
Uyen Luu’s cabbage, shiitake and water chestnut dumplings with fried noodles
There are some great pleasures of the weekend and one is the satisfying time it takes to prepare dumplings. This dish, with lovely heat from ginger and refreshing greens with the noodles, is the ultimate feel-good brunch, for which it’s worth mustering the effort every once in a while.
Serves 4
For the dumplings
sunflower, groundnut or rapeseed oil 2 tbsp
red onion 1 , diced
ginger 1 thumb, peeled and finely chopped
garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped
dried shiitake 30g, rehydrated in hot water for 15 minutes or till soft, thinly sliced
carrot 1 , julienned
sweetheart cabbage or savoy ¼, sliced into ½cm strips
soft or firm tofu 150g, crumbled
soy sauce 1 tbsp
oyster sauce 1 tbsp
wonton pastry wrappers 1 pack, about 30
For the dressing
soy sauce 6 tbsp
chilli sauce 2 tbsp
cider vinegar 1 tbsp
maple syrup 1 tbsp
For the fried noodles
Chinese mustard leaves 200g, sliced ½cm thick (or kai lan, choi sum, broccoli, spinach, watercress)
fresh wonton noodles or fresh ramen 4 nests, or rehydrate dried ramen
sunflower, groundnut or rapeseed oil 2 tbsp
garlic 4 cloves, finely chopped
sesame oil 2 tbsp
oyster sauce 1 tbsp
soy sauce 1 tbsp
To make the dumplings, using a wok or big frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil, add onions, ginger and garlic and fry for about 2 minutes on high heat. Then add the rest of the vegetables and tofu and stir fry with the soy and oyster sauces for about 5 minutes.
Once the vegetables have softened and cooked through, set aside in a bowl and leave to cool.
Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together in a small jug.
Once the filling has cooled, take a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your hand, then add a heaped teaspoon of the filling to the centre. Fold the edges together by pinching and pleating the wrapper to create a closed sack. There should be about 6 dumplings per person. Cover the dumplings with clingfilm to keep them fresh.
For the noodles, place the mustard leaves in a container. Pour boiling water over them and leave with a lid on for about 5 minutes. Drain and cover.
Bring a pot of water to the boil for the dumplings. Estimate how many dumplings will fit into your pot and set aside on a spider strainer.
Meanwhile, place the noodle nests into a container and pour boiling water over the them, drain after one minute and rinse with fresh warm tap water. Leave in the colander for the water to drip for a few minutes then massage the noodles with sesame oil. This will prevent them from sticking together.
Now it’s time to work quickly, so have everything prepared.
In a hot wok, add half the oil and quickly fry half the chopped garlic at medium heat. Before the garlic browns, add half the noodles and fry with half the mustard leaves, and half the oyster and soy sauces. This should take about 5 minutes. Set aside on plates and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Add the dumplings to the boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes or until they float to the top. Remove them from the boiling water with a spider strainer or a slotted spoon. Repeat until all the dumplings are cooked.
To serve, place the dumplings on the noodles and pour over the dressing.
Uyen Luu is a chef and food writer; uyenluu.com
Fanny Zanotti’s ricotta and honey doughnuts
You can call them doughnuts or fritters, but to me, these will always be beignets. They are made from a simple pâte à choux with just a touch of honey and lots of ricotta. Thick yogurt works like a charm too, if that’s all you have.
All you’ll need is a generous drizzle of honey and perhaps a small handful of pine nuts, toasted in a frying pan until just golden, and a fun breakfast made of sticky fingers will happen.
Makes 30-40 bite-sized doughnuts
whole milk 125g
butter 50g
sea salt 1 tsp
plain flour 75g
eggs 2
ricotta cheese 100g
honey 1 tbsp
vegetable oil for deep-frying
runny honey to serve
toasted pine nuts to serve (optional)
To make a choux paste, bring the milk, butter and salt to a rolling boil in a saucepan over a low heat – you want the butter to be fully melted before the milk boils. Take the pan off the heat and add the flour all in one go, mixing well until combined.
Return the pan to the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until a thin crust appears at the bottom of the pan. This shows that the dough is dry enough – it should not be sticky.
Transfer the paste to a large bowl and leave to cool for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well with the wooden spoon until the batter comes together.
While still warm, fold in the ricotta and honey. Scrape the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 20mm nozzle.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan to 160C. Start piping the dough into the oil, snipping off 1cm pieces as you go with scissors. Cut 6 or 7 at a time and please be careful not to burn yourself. Fry for around 6 minutes, flipping the balls halfway through, until they are deep brown.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried doughnuts to a plate lined with a few layers of kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining dough.
Serve on a large plate and drizzle with plenty of runny honey. A scattering of toasted pine nuts on top makes a wonderful addition.
From Paris Pastry Club by Fanny Zanotti (Hardie Grant Books, £20)
Yotam Ottolenghi’s super french toast
Sami Tamimi and I were on a book tour in Toronto and were taken to the fantastic Rose and Sons, a restaurant/diner serving food that is rich in every sense of the word. One of Rose and Sons’ most outstanding creations is a cross between a bread pudding and french toast. I reckon their secret involves double-dipping: the bread being soaked in custard once, before it is cooked like a pudding, and then dipped one more time, before it is fried like french toast.
To say that this “needs” anything extra would, frankly, be decadent but, to elevate it to the realm of the serious brunch, some stewed seasonal fruit or fresh berries would not go amiss.
Serves 8
full-fat milk 600ml
double cream 200ml
orange 1, rind shaved into long strips
long cinnamon sticks 3, broken in half
vanilla pod 1, split lengthways, seeds scraped
brioche loaf 400g, crusts removed, cut into eight 2½cm-thick slices
eggs 6
caster sugar 40g
unsalted butter 60g
icing sugar 40g
soured cream 240g
maple syrup to serve
Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5.
Place the milk, cream, orange rind, cinnamon and vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan. Heat gently on a medium–low heat and remove just before it comes to the boil, about 5 minutes. Set aside for about 20 minutes, for the cream to cool a little and for the flavours to infuse.
Meanwhile, line a 32cm x 22cm baking dish with baking parchment and lay the brioche slices flat in the base.
Place the eggs and caster sugar in a medium bowl and whisk well. Pour the warm milk gradually into the eggs, continuing to whisk the whole time. Strain the custard and then pour two-thirds of it over the brioche, so that it’s fully covered. Place the remaining custard in a wide shallow bowl and set aside.
Place the dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the custard is cooked through and golden-brown. Set aside to cool; then slice into 8 squares.
Place half the butter in a large non-stick frying pan and place on a medium–high heat. Dip half of the bread squares into the remaining custard mix, transfer to a plate and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of icing sugar over each square. Put them immediately in the pan, sugar side down, and fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, to caramelise the sugar. While they are frying, sprinkle ½ teaspoon of icing sugar over each slice. Flip over and cook for the same amount of time, until the sugar is dark brown and crispy. Remove from the pan, rest on a wire rack and repeat with the remaining brioche slices and butter.
Place a slice of toast on each plate with 2 tablespoons of soured cream and as much maple syrup as you like.
From Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £27)
