Mother's Day 2019

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to get your act together and plan how to surprise Mum this year. We’re here to help.

Breakfast in bed is a classic and always a delightful way of treating Mum. We’ve pulled some great recipes perfect for a Mother’s Day surprise from our favourite breakfast food title of the year Chefs Eat Breakfast Too by Darren Purchese. Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, it's also Darren's favourite, and it shows in this book of beautifully curated breakfast classics with a twist.  Find Darren's Green eggs and ham w/ tomato + stracciatella for an easy breakfast that is still sure to impress, or a his rendition of the classic pancakes - Buttermilk pancakes w/ lemon + blueberries below. 

To find more delicious breakfast recipes and buy Darren’s book, click here.

Green eggs and ham w tomato + stracciatella.

The colours of Italy on a plate; this breakfast will have you thinking you’ve woken up in an Italian idyll.

Chef’s tip

Stracciatella di bufala is a soft cheese made from Italian buffalo milk. When it’s being made, the cheese is stretched to form long shreds, which is where the name originates. Ask your cheesemonger if it’s available or see if you can order it in. It’s well worth the trouble because it’s rich, creamy, super spreadable and so yummy. If you can’t find it, then a burrata or other soft cheese will do just fine, but you’re guaranteed to experience major food FOMO.

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 10 Minutes (Plus 10 Minutes Resting) Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients 160 G (5½ Oz) Assorted Tomatoes, Cut Into Small Chunks 1 Tablespoon Red-Wine Vinegar Salt Flakes Freshly Ground Black Pepper 4 Eggs, At Room Temperatur 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 2 Slices Olive Bread, Cut 2 Cm (¾ In) Thick 1 Garlic Clove, Halved 100 G (3½ Oz) Stracciatella Di Bufala 4 Wafer-Thin Slices Prosciutto 4 Tablespoons Basil Pesto

Method

1/ Put the tomatoes in a bowl with the vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to sit for a minimum of 10 minutes at room temperature before using.

2/ Crack two of the eggs into two small saucers. Half-fill a saucepan with water, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir the water with a large spoon to create a whirlpool, then gently pour the eggs, one at a time, off the saucers into the centre of the whirlpool. Turn the heat off and leave the eggs to poach gently in the hot water. The eggs should be a perfect shape and set with a runny yolk after 4–6 minutes in the pan.

Repeat the process to poach the remaining two eggs.

3/ While the eggs are poaching, brush the olive oil onto the slices of bread. Preheat a chargrill pan or barbecue grill to high. Char and toast the bread on both sides, then remove from the heat and rub the cut side of the garlic clove over one side of the bread. Put a slice of bread onto each warmed plate.

4/ Spoon or spread the stracciatella onto the toasted bread. Remove the poached eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and place on the plate. Add the tomatoes and prosciutto and spoon the pesto over the eggs. Serve immediately.

Buttermilk pancakes w lemon + blueberries.

Pancakes are a fun start to the day... These pancakes are thick but still light and fluffy, and are made even more luxurious with the addition of crème fraîche into the batter.

Chef’s tip

Making the batter the night before not only allows the flavour to develop but also gives the batter time to thicken, resulting in an even thicker, fluffier pancake.

Makes: 10 Prep time: 10 minutes (plus overnight resting) Cook time: 5 minutes per pancake

Ingredients 80 g (6½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) 2½ tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar 1 teaspoon salt 180 ml (6 fl oz) buttermilk 3 eggs, lightly beaten 100 g (3½ oz) crème fraîche, at room temperature 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled finely grated zest of 1 lemon canola oil spray 250 g (9 oz) blueberries Lemon curd (see below), to serve extra crème fraîche and blueberries, to serve

1/ Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and add the sugar and salt. Slowly mix in the buttermilk and then the eggs, adding them a little at a time. Add the crème fraîche and the cooled melted butter and stir to combine. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a container and then add the lemon zest. Cover and rest the batter in the fridge overnight.

2/ Spray a non-stick frying pan with oil spray and place the pan over low–medium heat. To test if your pan is hot enough to cook the pancakes, flick a tiny bit of water onto the pan. If it’s ready,  the water will sizzle immediately.

3/ Take a small ladle or large spoon of batter and pour it into

the centre of the pan, using the back of the ladle to spread the pancake out to an even round. Dot the pancake with ten or so blueberries and cook for about 3 minutes, or until bubbles start to appear and break in the middle of the pancake. Flip the pancake over and cook for a further 1–2 minutes until the middle springs back when pushed with a finger. Remove to a wire rack and repeat the process to cook all the batter.

4/ Serve the pancakes warm with the lemon curd, a dollop of crème fraîche and extra blueberries.

Lemon curd

Makes: 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients 4 g (¼ oz/2 sheets) gold-strength gelatine leaves  4 eggs finely grated zest and juice of 3 lemons 130 g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature 200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

1/ Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 2 minutes to soften. Drain the gelatine and gently squeeze out the excess water.

2/ Put the eggs, lemon zest and juice, butter and sugar in a heatproof bowl and mix with a whisk to combine well. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Whisk the mixture constantly until the curd has reached a temperature of 82°C (180°F); use a digital thermometer to accurately check the temperature.

3/ Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the gelatine, mixing well until the gelatine has dissolved, then pour the curd through a sieve into a bowl. Set this bowl into a larger bowl of iced water and stir regularly to cool the curd down quickly. Spoon the curd into a container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

You can find more delicious recipes like this in Darren's cookbook, Chefs Eat Breakfast Too. Pick up a copy in your favourite bookshop, or order online here.