2 persimmons or ½ a mango
1 tablespoon tahini
300ml milk of your choice (I use almond)
a small handful of oats
a drizzle of honey
the juice of ½ an orange
2 dates
BERRY AND BASIL
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1 large handful of berries (blueberries, blackberries or strawberries)
1 large handful of greens
1 banana
5 fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon almond butter
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
200ml milk of your choice (I use almond)
a few ice cubes
Lemon maple granola
Shop-bought granola is the breakfast of choice for most of my friends who want to eat a little better. However, while cleverly branded as health foods, most granolas are full of sugar. This is why I make my own on Sunday night. Just 10 minutes’ work yields a deeply satisfying and beautiful jar of breakfast for the rest of the week. I use a mixture of quinoa flakes and oats for balance, as I find oats a bit heavy for first thing, but this works just as well if you use 300g of one or the other (and using just quinoa will make it gluten free). Use whatever dried fruit you like here. I have kept it simple, but sometimes I like to add dried peaches, pears or plums too when I find them. I find it really pleasing to measure in handfuls, but I have given some weights here too if you prefer to be precise.
Quinoa flakes can be used anywhere you would use oats. I use them for my morning porridge. Quinoa is said to be one of the most complete foods in nature, as it contains a brilliant balance of amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, fibre and antioxidants. Most importantly, it is a complete source of protein, so it’s perfect if you are cutting down or cutting out other proteins.
MAKES ABOUT 700G, A NICE BIG JAR
8 tablespoons runny honey or maple syrup
2 large handfuls (150g) of rolled oats
2 large handfuls (150g) of quinoa flakes
2 handfuls (80g) of seeds (I use sunflower and pumpkin)
2 handfuls (150g) of nuts (I use skin-on almonds and pecans), chopped
a handful (30g) of unsweetened desiccated coconut
grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
a handful (100g) of raisins
2 handfuls (100g) of any other dried fruit, roughly chopped (I use dates and dried apricots)
SERVE WITH YOGHURT AND FRUIT
Spring • vanilla-poached rhubarb and soya yoghurt
Summer • roasted strawberries with coconut milk yoghurt
Autumn • poached pears with maple syrup
Winter • dates poached in blood orange juice
Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. If you are using honey, heat it in a saucepan until warm (no need to do this if you are using maple syrup). Mix the oats, quinoa flakes, seeds, chopped nuts, coconut and lemon zest in a large bowl, then scatter over two large, lightly oiled baking trays.
Pour over the maple syrup or honey and mix well with your hands to coat everything. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Remember to give it a good stir every 5 minutes or so.
After 20 minutes, add all the dried fruits and put back into the oven for another 10 minutes to get that slightly chewy, caramelised fruit texture. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Store in airtight jars or containers for up to 1 month.
Ten ways with avocado on toast
To me, avocado on toast is sunny food – it feels right on a summer’s day and brightens up a dreary one. It is a go-to when time is short and cupboards are bare. I often eat it as a hurried breakfast, very simply with some lime, salt and pepper. But these other ways have crept in too.
Since avocado is the star of the show, accept nothing less than soft, yielding, ripe and perfect. Avocados are loaded with good fats and omega 3, like the stuff you find in olive oil, and an artillery of vitamins and minerals. I would struggle to eat without them.
EACH MAKES 2 PIECES OF TOAST
· Mash an avocado with lemon, salt and pepper. Pile onto toasted sourdough, top with tomatoes, a little balsamic vinegar, a bit of basil and some olive oil.
· Mash an avocado with lemon juice and pile onto rye bread with a drizzle of honey.
· Mash an avocado with some lime juice, salt and pepper. Pile onto toasted bread and top with a good sprinkling of chopped, fresh red chilli.
· Mash an avocado with a little lemon juice. Pile onto hot buttered toast and top with a poached egg and some chilli sauce.
· Mash an avocado with a little lemon juice. Spread a toasted bagel with a fine slick of cream cheese and top with the mashed avo, generously grate over lemon zest and sprinkle with lots of black pepper.
· Mash an avocado with a little lime juice, salt and pepper and stir in a chopped spring onion, a teaspoon of toasted mustard seeds and some chopped coriander. Pile onto hot toast.
· Mash your avocado with a tiny bit of lemon juice. Top hot toast with a slick of coconut oil, the mashed avo and then some toasted almonds.
· Mash your avocado with a little lemon juice, pile onto toast, then top with a few thin slices of banana and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
· Mash a ripe avocado with a little lemon juice, pile onto toast, and top with chopped pistachios, some toasted sesame seeds and a little honey and cinnamon.
· Whiz some basil with a little olive oil. Mash an avocado with a little lemon juice and pile onto hot toast, crumble over some feta and pour over the basil oil.
Herbed Parisian scrambled eggs
Sometimes I need a reminder that something simple and classic is really, really good. In my imaginary life where I spend my days roaming around Paris flea markets this is what I would eat for breakfast. Classically, chervil is used in harmony of herbs too, but it’s not easy to find so I’ve left it out; however, if you come across some, buy it – it’s got such a piercingly delicate flavour and is great chucked into green salads. Basil and mint can be thrown into the mix here too.
A note on how to keep soft herbs: I use herbs a lot – their flavours are like nothing else, and each is so completely different from the others, I couldn’t cook without them. I appreciate that buying a lot of herbs for a little breakfast recipe feels extravagant. This is how I make herbs work harder for me. I buy a load once every week or so when they look good at the greengrocer, and I keep them like flowers, in glasses filled with a dash of cold water in the milk-bottle compartment of my fridge. This way they keep for a week or so. Every time I open the fridge I am met with a heady smell and a grassy green wall of herbs, which means they are appreciated and make their way into much more of my cooking.
SERVES 2
a little olive oil or butter
4 really good organic or free-range eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs each of fresh parsley, tarragon and dill, leaves picked and roughly chopped
2 slices of good buttered toast (I like sourdough)
Everyone has their own way with eggs. This is how I scramble mine.
Heat a little oil or butter in a frying pan on