Breakfast Burritos

Burrito's are awesome. So much goodness crammed into a light tortilla casing and best of all, you can eat it with your hands. Bacon and eggs are also awesome, though a little harder to eat with your hands. You could try, but let's face it, it would be messy. Well the breakfast burrito is the perfect solution to this problem. It's your favourite fry up foods, with Mexican flair and some salad and salsa for good measure. Plus it makes it healthy right? Yes! This has just become a health food. Just... maybe don't eat it every day. 


Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 flour tortillas
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1/2 small green capsicum
• 4 cm of cucumber 
• juice of half a lime 
• 4 rashers of middle eye bacon - the not too fatty kind, it makes it easier to bite through inside the wrap, oh and healthier.  
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk 
• salt and pepper 
• 1 cup of leftover cooked white rice 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce (optional) 

• 1 can of baked beans (or chilli beans) 
• 4 slices of cheddar cheese (or 1/2 cup grated cheese)  
• 2 cups of salad greens 
• optional: jalapenos, sriracha sauce, and sour cream to serve

Salsa

Finely dice the onion, tomato, capsicum and cucumber and mix together in a bowl. Add lime juice and season with a little salt. Stir and set aside. 

Bacon 

Heat a tbsp of oil in a heavy based fry pan and on a low heat, cook bacon until lightly browned on each side, then set aside in a warm oven (about 60 degrees) to keep warm while you prepare the rest. 

Red Rice

In the same pan that you cooked the bacon, add the cooked rice, 1/4 cup of water, tomato sauce and sriracha, stir over a low heat till all the tasty bacon flavours are lifted off the pan, the rice is a lovely red colour, and the water has evaporated, it may still be a little wet at this time, but remove into a small bowl and pop in the warm oven while you scramble the eggs.  

Eggs

Use a fork to lightly beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper. In a clean pan, heat 1 tbsp oil on a low heat and pour in the beaten eggs. Use a spatula to occasionally scrape the bottom of the pan so that the eggs scramble. Once set remove from the heat. 

To Assemble

Heat the baked beans in a small pot or microwave. 

Heat the tortillas for a couple of minutes in the warm oven, or 10 seconds in the microwave. 

Divide the fillings between the four tortillas centring in the middle a little: bacon, beans, cheese, rice, eggs, then salsa and a handful of greens. Adding jalapenos, sriracha, and sour cream if desired, though it's equally as tasty without. 

Fold the ends of each tortilla in slightly, then roll the tortilla around the filling so the seam is on the bottom, the slice diagonally. 

Carrot and Date Loaf

I find baking rather therapeutic, or maybe it's the eating of the baking afterwards. Either way, it's good for the soul, and in my book it's much better for you as a treat than any of the store bought packaged items available. I couldn't decide if I wanted to make a carrot cake or a date loaf. Carrot cake seemed too elaborate for the lunch boxes, and date loaf, well... not quite right. Hence I combined the two.
This is delicious as a snack, dessert or even breakfast; smeared with softened butter, or in keeping with the carrot cake theme delicious spreadable cream cheese. 


Ingredients (Makes 8-10 slices): 

• 100 grams butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup of dates
• 1 cup of cold water
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup or 120 grams of chopped nuts (I've used a combination of walnuts, almonds, cashews) 
• 1 cup of packed grated carrot
• 2 eggs at room temperature

In a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, dates, water, ginger and cinnamon. Gently bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally till the dates begin to break down. Remove from the heat and stir in baking soda - get the kids to watch as it fizzes up! Set aside to 20 minutes to cool down. 

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180•C bake or 160•C fanbake. Line a loaf tin (or 12 muffin tray) with baking paper so that there is plenty of overhang. 

In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, nuts and grated carrot. 

Once cooled, quickly beat the eggs into the date mixture, then combine this with the flour mix. Mix till just combined before pouring into the loaf tin (or muffin trays). Bake for 50 minutes (25-30 minutes for muffins) or until a skewer comes out clean. 

Leave in the tray for 10 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy morning, noon or night served with softened butter, or a lashing of cream cheese for that carrot cake nostalgia. 

Salmon and feta flan with peas

If you've been following my blog or recipe posts you'll notice salmon has been somewhat of a theme lately. Not to mention my assortment of sweet tarts and pies. This recipe combines the two: smoked salmon baked in a savoury pastry shell to make this delightful flan. 

Don't let the idea of making your own pastry put you off: it's actually ridiculously easy (especially with the use of a food processor - though it can be done by rubbing the butter and flour together with your fingertips), and truely impressive. Not to mention, it is a lot healthier than store bought flaky or short pastry. 

Pastry (Serves 6 - 8 as a light meal): 

• 1 1/4 c flour 
• 90 grams cold butter, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 - 6 tbsp chilled water

In a food processor, place the flour, salt and diced butter. Blitz on high till the butter is combined and it resembles breadcrumbs. 

Slowly add the iced water 1 tbsp at a time while the motor is running. The pastry will combine and become a soft sticky ball of dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, or 180 degrees on fan bake. Grease a 22cm tart tin generously with butter, or line with greaseproof paper. 

After chilling, remove from the fridge and on a lightly floured bench or piece of greaseproof paper, roll the pastry to be about 4 cm wider in diameter than your flan or tart tin. Gently press your pastry into the tin and trim the edges. (See any of my other tart posts for tips and tricks with pastry). 

Filling:

• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 green capsicum, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, covered in boiling water and drained
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 150 grams smoked salmon
• 100 grams feta
• 1/2 tsp dried dill

Beat eggs with milk and salt. In the prepared pastry shell sprinkle the capsicum and peas evenly. Lay salmon over this, and then crumbled feta and red onion. 

Pour egg mixture over the top and gently press filling to ensure it is mainly submerged. 

Sprinkle with dried dill and place in the hot oven for 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 180 degrees celsius, or 160 degrees fan bake, and bake for another 20 minutes. Once filling is set (and has most likely puffed up) and the pastry is cooked (it will be coming away from the edges of the tin) remove from the oven and set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool before slicing. 

Serve with dollops of your favourite chilli sauce.

Spinach and Feta Tart

As you might have seen I've made a lot of sweet tarts over the past year or so. However it's not often that I dabble with savoury tarts. Partly because I had yet to perfect the pastry. It needs to be buttery, crisp, but still taste wholesome. The addition of wholemeal flour and sunflower seeds in this pastry does just that. You could also sprinkle some toasted seeds over the top once it is cooked. 

This tart eats well warm straight from the oven, or cooled and packed for the lunchbox the next day. 

Ingredients (serves 4 as a meal, 8 as a snack):

• 1 cup of plain flour 
• 1 cup of wholemeal flour 
• 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
• 120 grams butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk 
• 3 - 4 tbsp of cold water
• 4 - 5 large eggs 
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 200 grams spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese 
• 160 - 200 grams feta cheese
• 1 tsp each of salt and pepper 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated or ground

In a food processor, combine the flours, salt and sunflower seeds. Blitz to chop the seeds. Add cubes of cold butter and mix on high until it resembles breadcrumbs. 

Add the egg yolk and 1 tbsp of water at a time, mixing until you have a soft dough. 

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently for a minute or two. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease a 30cm fluted tart tin, then prepare the filling. 

Place the spinach in a bowl and cover with boiling water for a minute. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture before roughly chopping. 

Put a small frying pan on a low heat and melt the butter and oil. Add the thyme and diced onion. Saute slowly, stirring often, for 10 minutes till the onions are soft, but not browned. Remove from the heat to cool. 

Break the eggs into a bowl with the milk, salt, pepper, and cottage cheese, and nutmeg, use a fork or whisk to beat well. Add the chopped spinach and cooled onion. Mix to combine. 

Roll the pastry and gently line the tart tin, pressing into the edges and trimming away the excess. 

Fill the pastry with the egg mixture, then crumble the feta evenly over the top, gently press it down into the filling with the back of a spoon. 

Bake in the hot oven for 50 minutes till the pastry is cooked and the filling is set. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes before slicing and serving with your favourite chutney and a salad. 

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. 

Kumara Rosti, Poached Eggs, Salmon and Hollandaise

The Kumara Rosti and the Hollandaise really are the star of this dish. The perfect late breakfast meal, or after one of those early morning world cup games, we've been dragging ourselves out of bed for. 
The toppings, feel free to chop and change to suit your taste, I like to alternate the smoked salmon for haloumi every now and then, and both options are delicious. 

You can get the meal started in advance, making the rosti, spinach and hollandaise early, ready to be warmed and assembled when the eggs are poached. 
The recipe serves four, but could easily be doubled or halved. 

Kumara Rosti 

• 4 medium kumara, grated
• 1 tbsp salt 
• 2 egg whites
• oil, for frying

Grate the kumara and stir through the salt. Leave to sit for 10 - 20 minutes while you prepare the hollandaise. 

After sitting, squeeze the kumara to remove excess liquid, you'll be surprised how much comes out. Stir in the egg whites. 

Heat half a cm of oil in a frying pan and use your hands to mould and flatten balls of camera, fry then in the oil, turning after 3-4 minutes. Once cooked on both sides I like to put them in a hot oven for ten more minutes to make sure they cook through, and to keep them warm while you get everything else ready. 

Hollandaise 

• 80grams butter
• 2 egg yolks 
• 3 tbsp lemon juice

Make a double boiler. Place a small saucepan of water over a low heat. Place a glass or metal bowl over the top of the saucepan so that no steam can escape. This creates a gentle heat to cook your hollandaise. 

Put the yolks and butter into the bowl and whisk constantly as the butter melts. Whisking is important, you want the butter to mix in with the yolk before it cooks. Once all butter is melted, continue whisking for a minute or two till it has thickened a little. 

Remove from heat and whisk in the lemon juice. Do this quickly, while it is still warm. Set aside, it will continue to thicken, this is ok, as when it is spooned over the warm eggs it will melt a little. 

Spinach 

• 150 grams spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp oil

Pour boiling water over the spinach and drain. Heat the oil in a saucepan, and add the lightly wilted spinach. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes till wilted. 

200 grams smoked salmon 

or 200 grams Haloumi cheese, sliced and fried 

8 Eggs, poached in hot water

Everyone has their own poaching tricks. I do mine in a large saucepan on a low simmer, with a spoonful of vinegar in the water. 

To assemble

On a plate place two warm rosti. Place a small pile of spinach on top of each. Next layer smoked salmon, or a slice of fried haloumi, place the poached egg on top, then spoon over the hollandaise and watch it melt down over the egg and rosti. 

Salt. 

Pepper. 

Enjoy. 

Left: Rosti with spinach, haloumi, egg and hollandaise. Right: The Salmon variation

Kumara Carrot and Feta Frittata

Weeknights are busy. Let's face it. But that doesn't mean that we don't have time to cook something delicious that will keep the hungry bellies at bay. Eggs are versatile healthy and so easy to whip together. This frittata let's you slice some veggies, turn on the oven, and basically walk away. Leaving you to get on with spending time with your family, or catching up on extra paperwork that we promise ourselves we won't bring home, but end up doing anyway. It can easily be doubled and makes fantastic leftovers, hot or cold. 

Ingredients (Serves 4): 

• 2 large kumara
• 2 large carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme 
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) 
• salt and pepper 
• 6 eggs
• 2 tbsp ground linseed (optional)
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 100g feta 
• to serve: salad greens, chutney and bread

Method: 

Preheat oven to 190

Slice kumara and carrots into 1cm thick discs - peeling optional, I leave the skins on for fibre, flavour plus it saves time

Peel and slice onion into 1cm wedges. 

Toss veggies with olive oil, thyme and cayenne pepper and salt. 

Pour into ovenproof pan or roasting dish and roast for 30 minutes, stirring half way, or until they are cooked through

Mix eggs with milk, linseed (if using), salt and pepper

Pour egg mix over cooked kumara and carrot. 

Crumble feta over the top and bake another 30 mins, the eggs will puff up and become a little golden. 

Allow to cool for 5 minutes then slice and serve with salad, chutney and bread. 

Rocket and Mushroom Omelette‏

Eggs are a great start to the day and lately my favourite way to eat them is in an omelette.

I add ground linseed (also known as flaxseed) to my omelettes to boost dietary fibre. Linseed is often used as an replacement in recipes for those with allergies, and is great added to porridge or sauces which need thickening. You'll find it in the baking aisle at most supermarkets.

Ingredients (per person):

• 2 free range eggs
• 1 tbsp ground linseed
• 3 tbsp of your choice of milk 
• salt and pepper 
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• handful of fresh rocket leaves
• oil or butter for frying.

Method

Mix eggs, linseed, milk, salt and pepper and whisk well with a fork.

Heat oil or butter in a large pan and cook mushrooms on a low heat for 5 minutes till softened. Remove mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

Keep heat low and heat another tbsp of oil or butter, then pour in egg mixture. Swirl to coat the pan.

Cook for a few minutes before spreading mushrooms over half the omelette. Place rocket on top of mushrooms, then fold the other half of the omelette over top.

Cook for another minute or two till cooked through then serve with buttered toast and a dollop of relish.

This is one of the recipes I created for NZDads.co.nz

Christmas spiced pikelets with kiwifruit and strawberry salsa

Every year we do Christmas Brunch with my family, usually a bacon and egg combo with all the sides, mushrooms, spinach, tomato avocado etc. But today I though I would experiment with something new. These pikelets are quick and easy to make, similar to your edmonds recipe, egg flour milk, but with millet flour instead of regular flour, making them gluten free and with a deeper texture and flavour.

Millet is a slightly sweet golden coloured grain, which originated in China. It has many health benefits including being a source of protein, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals including copper, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and B-complex vitamins (especially niacin and B6). As well as all that it contains amino acid tryptophan, which can help regulate people's appetite, sleep and moods. Millet can be cooked as a grain like rice or barley, or as I used in this recipe, be ground to a flour. It doesn't make a perfect substitute for regular flour in recipes, usually needing to be mixed with other flours, but does make great, slightly crunchy and nutty flavoured pancakes. 

Hence, I came up with this recipe, having some millet flour to use, and not much experience using it in other recipes, I decided to make pikelets. This is my third time making them and I think I'm definitely onto a winner.

Ingredients

• 1 egg, whisked
• 3/4 milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 mashed ripe banana (I freeze mine, then thaw them as I need them) 
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup millet flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 kiwifruit
• 6-8 strawberries
• 6-8 mint leaves
• squeeze of lemon juice
• golden syrup (or any other syrup you like) 
• butter or oil for frying. 

Method

Whisk the egg quickly, add milk, spices, banana and sugar. Mix well. 

Add the flour and baking powder, mix well and put in fridge to chill for 30 mins... Use this time to get the salsa ready and any other morning chores. 

Use a paring knife to peel and dice the kiwifruit. Hull and dice the strawberries. 

Mix together with finely chopped mint leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice. Chill. 

Heat butter or oil (or a combination of both) in a heavy frypan over a medium heat. Drop about 1/4c at a time into the pan. Swirl the pan a little to spread the batter if necessary. Watch as small bubbles appear on the surface, once the bubbles pop, they are ready to flip. Cook for another minute or two on the other side. Place in a warm oven while you cook the rest. 

Serve stacked with salsa and a good drizzle of syrup on top. 

You could also serve with greek yogurt or whipped cream on the side. 

To make these finger food, place a single layer of pikelets on a serving tray. Put a dollop of cream or yogurt on top, followed by a small amount of the salsa. Drizzle with syrup and serve.