Champagne Brunch

Bacon, eggs, sausages, toast, fried tomatoes. Brunch is pretty simple right? Yes. There's the usual fry up favourites, but there's also some really easy sides and ways to incorporate veggies, that can make your brunch the better. The best thing about most of these is that they can be prepared in advance and just warmed to serve, which makes them perfect for entertaining a crowd. 

The following recipes include Potato Rosti, Garlic Spinach and Thyme Mushrooms. They go great alongside your usual brunch fry ups and are prefect accompaniments for that champagne breakfast celebration. 

Potato Rosti (makes 8 small) 

• 4 large potatoes, scrubbed clean
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cracked pepper
• 2 stalks of fresh rosemary, leaves only. 
• 2 egg whites
• olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Spread about 3 tbsp olive oil over a baking tray or roasting pan. 

Scrub the potatoes clean and use a food processor to finely shred them. 

Squeeze excess moisture from the potatoes and put them in a large bowl with rosemary, salt pepper and egg whites (the yolks can be reserved to make hollandaise or added to your scrambled eggs). 

Shape handfuls into patties and arrange on the baking tray. 

Drizzle liberally with more olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes turning once with a metal spatula. 

These can be eaten straight away. Or, set aside and crisp each side for a couple of minutes on the BBQ hotplate or a frying pan just before serving. 

Thyme Mushrooms (serves 4-6) 

• 2-3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 2 tsp dried) 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly
• 20 grams butter
• 3 cups of button mushrooms, sliced about 1 cm thick
• salt and pepper 
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

Heat the olive oil on a low heat in a frying pan. Add the onion and thyme. 

Saute for 2 minutes till softened. 

Add the butter and sliced mushrooms, stir regularly for the next few minutes. 

When mushrooms begin to soften add the salt, pepper, red wine and balsamic vinegar. 

Increase to a medium heat and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes till mushrooms are soft and liquid is reduced. 

If preparing in advance simply reheat in a saucepan or microwave. 

Garlic Spinach (serves 4-6) 

• 1 bag of large spinach leaves (about 300g), stalks removed. 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 spring onion, green parts only, sliced 5mm thick

Remove spinach stalks and place in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for 1 minute. Drain, squeeze excess liquid when cool enough to handle. If preparing in advance, set aside till you're ready to eat. 

Roughly chop squeezed spinach. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add the spinach, garlic and spring onion. Toss for 1 minute. Serve immediately.