Sunday Brunch is hands down my favourite meal of the week! I love how relaxing it is to cook and also the world of ideas from savoury to sweet that can make up this glorious little meal.
We don’t eat cereals in this house. A decision I made a few years ago having witnessed countless arguments among my children in Supermarkets over who wanted what cereal, coupled with the fact that when feeding a family of 6 I found cereal to be perhaps the single most expensive food item in my trolley, the one that they were guaranteed to go through in no time and then finally the knowledge that I might as well send them off to school on a packet of M&M’s for all the sugar and lack of sustainability in it.
I make a home cooked breakfast every morning of the week, this does mean getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier but it is worth it knowing that they are going to school on a breakfast that is packed full of goodness, will keep them fuller for longer and also sugar crash free.
Midweek it can be as simple as fruit salad with natural yoghurt (flavoured yoghurts tend to have a lot of hidden sugar so should only be used as a treat) scrambled or soft poached eggs on wholemeal toast, drippy boiled eggs with soldiers are a real favourite with them
as are my own oaty pancakes which contain very little sugar and are packed full of the goodness of oats. The weekend is usually when I go all out and I love to spoil them with waffles, crepes, buttermilk pancakes and Mr C’s very favourite…Eggs Benedict.
On a Sunday morning a few weeks ago I was lying in bed thinking of what to make for myself, I knew I wanted something tasty but didn’t want it to be packed with sugar, butter or cream and most importantly I wanted it to be something that would hit my protein macros. We’d had Enchiladas (recipe in the link) http://damndelicious.net/2014/03/17/homemade-enchilada-sauce/ for our ‘Movie Night’ with the boys the evening before and I had lots of sides left over from that, also our second oldest son is working in a French Patisserie which has opened in Kenmare this summer which means we have the most gorgeous supply of rustic French Sourdough Breads…..so that all led me to this recipe below….
Toasted Sourdough topped with the Re-fried Beans which is then topped with two gorgeous Soft Poached Eggs, lots of Chopped Fresh Coriander and a generous sprinkling of Tabasco served with Pico de Gallo and Guacamole! Tabasco,Coriander and Eggs are in my opinion one of those humble Trinity’s of food.
The recipes for this brunch below make me think of my lovely friend Lily Ramirez. Lily is a Food Blogger, from Mexico but living in Ireland after she met and fell in love with her Dublin husband Alan. Lily is passionate about her native Mexican food and always tries to distinguish between ‘real’ Mexican cooking and ‘Tex Mex’ which is possibly what we think of when we think of Mexican cooking. One thing I have learned from Lily is that what we call ‘Salsa’ is not actually ‘Salsa’…for ‘Salsa’ to be ‘Salsa’ it has to be cooked, other than that it is ‘Pico de Gallo!’
You can check out Lily’s mouthwatering recipes and lots more info on traditional Mexican Cuisine and her amazing ‘Picado’ Mexican Pantry in Dublin where you can buy almost everything you’ll need for your Mexican cooking here http://amexicancook.ie/
You can start this recipe by poaching your eggs, I do this by bringing a saucepan of water to the boil, I break my two eggs into a shallow bowl and then carefully slide them from the bowl into the boiling water. I then take the saucepan off the heat and let the eggs sit for between 3 and 4 minuted, depending on how soft you want them. While the eggs are poaching toast the sourdough and top with the beans (make sure they are piping hot). Place the cooked eggs on top, scatter over lots of fresh Coriander, sprinkle with Tabasco (I like mine quiet spicy) and serve with the Guacamole and Pico de Gallo….trust me….this is the breakfast to DIE for!
Ingredients:
For The Refried Beans
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed under cold water
- 1-2 tsp. ground cumin
- salt and black pepper
- squeeze of lime juice
- tbsp. good quality oil
For The Pico De Gallo
- 3-4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
- half a small red onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 heaped tbsp. chopped fresh coriander
- half a small red onion chopped
- pinch of sugar
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
For The Guacamole
- 1 large ripe avocado
- 2 cloves of garlic
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
- squeeze of lime juice
Directions:
For The Refried Beans
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onions and garlic and sweat for 5-10 mins until soft and golden.
- Add in the kidney beans, ground cumin, salt and pepper and lime juice, stir well and allow the beans to heat through.
- Blitz to a smooth paste with a hand held gun or in a small food processor.
For The Pico De Gallo
- Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
For The Guacamole
- Place the avocado in a bowl with the crushed garlic and mash well, season with the salt and pepper and lime juice.
