Five easy brunch foods for your lazy bank holiday afternoon

The perfect brunch to cure the bank holiday blues

If you're not up for cooking a fancy brunch, give one of these handy recipes a try.

Full Irish Breakfast Bap

recipe by:Donal Skehan

This breakfast bap is messy business but an instantly memorable breakfast - perfect for Christmas day

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 large butcher sausages

• 100g black pudding, crumbled

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 8 slices streaky bacon

• 4 free-range eggs

• 4 blaa buns

• Butter, softened

• Tomato ketchup, to serve

• Baked beans, to serve

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Arrange the bacon on a baking tray lined with parchment. Sprinkle with black pepper and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden.

2. Remove the sausages from their casing and place in a large mixing bowl with the black pudding. Mix until well combined. Season and divide into four. Shape into patties. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low to medium heat. Add the patties and fry for 3-4 minutes each side until golden.

3. While they’re cooking, heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Crack the eggs into the pan. Baste as they cook for 2-3 minutes until the white turns opaque but the yolk is still runny.

4. Butter the blaa buns, spread tomato ketchup on the base of the blaa, top with the sausage patties, bacon, fried egg and beans.
   
   Donal's Family Kitchen Christmas Special airs on RTE1 on December 22.

Breakfast burrito

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

This breakfast burrito is one of my favourite brunch recipes

Servings

3

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Mexican

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ an onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 tin of mixed beans

• 1 tbsp butter

• 5 eggs, beaten

• 3 tortilla wraps

• 3 tsp spicy tomato salsa

• 75g cheddar, grated

Method

1. Preheat the grill to medium. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over a medium heat.

2. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.

3. Stir in the beans, reduce the heat and leave to simmer while you scramble the eggs.

4. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan and pour in the eggs. Cook on a low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until the eggs are scrambled but still nice and moist.

5. Remove from the heat. Spoon half of the bean mixture into the middle of each tortilla wrap. Follow with equal amounts of the scrambled eggs, salsa and Cheddar.

6. Fold the sides of the wraps over the filling, then roll the wraps up from the bottom to top to enclose the filling completely. Place the wraps folded-side down on a baking tray.

7. Place under the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly toasted.

Apple and blueberry pancakes

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Fruit-filled pancakes are a perfect start to the weekend

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 35 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 300g of self raising flour

• a pinch of sea salt

• 1 tsp bread soda, sieved

• 285ml of buttermilk

• 4 tbsp natural yogurt

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 85g melted butter

• 2 medium sized apples, peeled and roughly grated

• 40g blueberries – more for serving

• maple syrup to serve

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt and bread soda together.

2. Lightly whisk the buttermilk, yogurt and eggs together. Whisk in the melted butter.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the buttermilk mixture until a smooth batter is formed. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least a half an hour.

4. Stir in the grated apple and the 40g of blueberries.

5. Add a knob of butter and a very small dash of sunflower oil to a flat pan over a high heat. Spoon a large dollop of the batter onto the hot pan. Once it is going golden underneath turn the pancake and cook until golden on the other side. Repeat until the batter is used up. Serve with some extra blueberries, natural yogurt and maple syrup.

Raspberry pancakes

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

These raspberry pancakes are great for a St Valentine’s brunch or as a delicious, lazy breakfast any other weekend.

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 200g raspberries

• 100g oat flour or porridge oats blitzed

• 1 tsp baking powder, sieved

• 1 tsp ground cardamom, sieved

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 100mls milk

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• a knob of butter for frying

• maple syrup or honey to serve

Method

1. Mash 50g of the raspberries until a complete mush and set aside. You can either use oat flour or liquidise the porridge until it looks similar to flour.

2. Place the oats in a large bowl and add the baking powder and cardamon. Stir in the vanilla, milk and egg until a smooth batter forms. Add in the mashed raspberries and stir.

3. Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Pour out any excess into a small bowl so that you can use it again for the next pancakes. Spoon a generous dollop of the batter onto the hot pan. Once the underneath has turned golden flip the pancake gently. Fry until the second side is golden as well. You should get about eight pancakes from the batter.

4. Serve with some fresh raspberries and honey or maple syrup drizzled over the top. A spoon of natural yogurt works very well on the side.

Potato cakes with apple sauce, black pudding and bacon

recipe by:Colm O’Gorman

These potato cakes with a twist are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner

Servings

4

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 650-750g floury potatoes 

• 225g plain flour

• 40g melted butter

• 35ml double cream

• 4 spring onions

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• Black Pepper

• 250g bramley apples

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 20g butter

• 25g dark brown sugar

• Salt and pepper

• 12 slices smoked streaky bacon

• 8 generous slices of black pudding

Method

1. Make your mashed potato by baking them in the oven or microwave, scoop out the flesh into the pan of warm cream and melted butter and season with salt and pepper. 

2. Wash and chop the spring onions. In a mixing bowl, combine the mashed potato, flour and spring onions. Mix it all together well until you have a dough. 

3. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough until it is smooth. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Use your hands to shape each portion into a round cake about 2cm thick. Set aside.

4. For the apple sauce, wash, peel and core your apples. 

5. Heat the butter in a pan until it is melted and foaming and chop the apples into 2cm chunks and add them to the pan along with the sugar and lemon juice. 

6. Cook over a medium heat for five to eight minutes until the apples start to cook down into a sauce but still retain a little of their shape and texture. Once they are cooked, take them off the heat and season with salt and pepper.

7. Grill the bacon until it is very crispy and golden. Fry the black pudding, give it about three to four minutes per side. 

8. To finish off the potato cakes use a heavy based, non-stick pan over a high heat. You do not need to use any oil. 

9. Turn down to a medium heat and cook for four to five minutes per side until they are browned and cooked through.

10. Serve one potato cake per person on a warm plate, with two slices of black pudding and three slices of crispy bacon per serving. Finish the dish with a spoonful of apple sauce.