3 breakfast recipes to whip up this week

Baked black beans, coriander guacamole and poached eggs
Serves 4

Ingredients

• white wine vinegar
• 4 eggs

For the black beans

• small knob of butter or 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  
• 1/3 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
  
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  
• 200ml chicken (or vegetable) stock
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 400g tin of good-quality chopped tomatoes
  
• ½ tsp ground cumin
  
• ½ tsp hot paprika
  
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and stoned
  
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
• pinch of dried chilli flakes, plus extra to serve
• squeeze of lime juice
• small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra to serve

Method

1. To make the baked black beans, melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the carrot, onion, celery and chilli and fry for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 15 minutes (or longer, if you have the time – the longer you simmer the beans, the better their flavour), adding water if the sauce starts to dry out.
2. Meanwhile, make the guacamole. Mash the avocado in a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper and cover the bowl with cling film until needed.
3. Just before the beans are ready, poach the eggs. Bring a pan of water to the boil over a high heat and add a splash of vinegar. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Crack one egg at a time into a coffee mug, then carefully tip each egg into the water (turning up the heat if the water stops simmering). Leave the eggs to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
4. Ladle the beans into bowls, add a dollop of guacamole to each serving and top with a drained poached egg, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and fresh coriander.

Tips: Other beans, such as borlotti or red kidney beans, work just as well as black beans in this recipe. The baked beans can also be made up to a day in advance and reheated when needed. You can deseed your chilli if you don’t like your food too spicy.

Extracted from The Model Method by Hollie Grant, owner of PilatesPT (Piatkus). Photography by Nassima Rothacker.

Green eggs royale
Serves 2

This healthy yet indulgent, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo brekkie from Little Green Spoon is the ultimate way to fuel yourself for a busy day. Full of healthy fats and proteins and all the trimmings you’d expect from a good brunch dish.

Ingredients

• 10 spears of asparagus
• 4-5 slices of smoked salmon
• 1 avocado
• 2 eggs

For the healthy Hollandaise

• 2 egg yolks
• juice of half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted

Method

1. Boil your asparagus for a few minutes until they are bright green and snappy.
2. Fill your blender with boiling water and pop the lid on while you prepare the rest. Plate your asparagus, layer on the smoked salmon and then half an avocado each.
3. Pour the hot water out of the blender (this was just to heat up the blender). Add in the egg yolks and lemon juice and blitz until combined. Turn the speed on low and slowly add in the melted coconut oil so that the sauce starts to emulsify and thicken.
4. Poach your eggs and then pop them on top of the avocado.
5. Pour the hollandaise generously over everything and tuck in!

Photography by the Little Green Spoon

Tomato toasts with scrambled eggs, herbs & olives
Serves 6

I find the charred bread from the griddle pan important to give a smoky flavour but feel free to simply toast the bread under the grill. The tomatoes take no time just to heat through – don’t overcook them, otherwise, the skins loosen and that’s not what you want. I prefer my scrambled eggs to have a bit of texture, but if you prefer a uniform creamy texture, you could make them in a bain-marie.

Ingredients

• 3 short French sticks, each halved lengthways
  
• 2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
  
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
  
• 750g ripe tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with a few sea salt crystals
  
• 1 tsp pul biber red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper
  
• 8 medium eggs
  
• 8 oregano or marjoram sprigs, some in flower if possible, leaves and flowers removed
  
• 18 black olives, sliced off the stones in slivers
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• small pinch of sea salt crystals

Method

1. Heat a ridged griddle pan over a high heat and toast the bread on the cut sides. Generously rub the toasted sides with the whole garlic cloves right to the edges of the bread and spoon over the extra virgin olive oil.
2. Halve, core and roughly chop the tomatoes, then drain through a colander set over a bowl (keep the juice to drink). Once they are well-drained, put 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic in a frying pan and set over a high heat.
3. As soon the garlic sizzles, stir and quickly add the tomatoes so the garlic doesn’t brown; cook for 3 minutes without stirring just to heat through rather than break them down. Mix in the red pepper flakes or black pepper.
4. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl, break up with a fork and mix in a small pinch of salt. When the tomatoes are ready, make the scramble. Heat a large pan (preferably non-stick) over a low-medium heat and add the rest of the oil. Pour in the eggs and stir constantly over a low heat using a wooden spoon to scrape the cooked egg into the runny mixture from the bottom of the pan and around the edges as it sets. Continue to stir into wet curds for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is as you like a scramble to be.
5. Chop half the oregano or marjoram and fold in the tomato mixture. Very lightly fold the scramble through the tomato mixture and spoon it onto the toasts. Scatter with the olive slivers and the rest of the oregano or marjoram leaves (and flowers if you have them). Spoon over more extra virgin olive oil to serve.

Extracted from Cracked by Linda Tubby (Kyle Books). Photography by Ali Allen.