Top 8: Valentine Brunches with a touch of celebratory flair
M&S Shakshuka sauce served with poached eggs. picture Chani Anderson
After over a week of cold, wet weather, Valentine’s Day is as good an excuse as any to cosy up and have breakfast in bed, or brunch in the kitchen. What makes a difference is presentation, ideally without much work, so let’s consider small changes to add a touch of celebratory flair to our celebration. For our Top 8, I’ve put together some breakfast ideas worth lingering over.
For breakfast in bed, a tray with a pretty cloth or folded tea towel helps, and squeezing a few of the delicious seasonal Spanish oranges into a nice glass, adds a romantic touch. Alternatively, a slice of fresh pineapple, and a half of those delicious golden kiwis in the shops right now add taste and vitamins to an everyday porridge, muesli or granola — those fruits also make a moreish cocktail blended with a splash of cranberry juice and water. Serve in a Champagne flute or wine glass.
With simple, heart-shaped cutters, I cut out thick slices of Hegarty’s cheddar to decorate plates. Crackers offer a crunchy contrast to creamy dips and are available at supermarkets and farmers’ markets.
Look to your local bakery for unusual breads. Fresh bread is one of life’s pleasures and can be refreshed with a sprinkle of water before air-frying for a few minutes. There are delicious quiches in the shops too. A slice with toasted sourdough is always a treat.
I was delighted to find this North African sauce in M&S. The mildly spiced tomato and vegetable sauce is easy to make from tomatoes, onions and peppers – find recipes online. This sauce (enough for four to six) is heated in a saucepan to a simmer, and eggs are cracked into wells created with a spoon. Poach with the lid on for five to seven minutes, depending on how you like your eggs cooked. Delicious with pitta bread on the side.
This particularly good focaccia is light and full of flavour, with one type flavoured with whole olives, the other with tomatoes. It needs nothing to accompany it, but I paired it with Parma ham from SuperValu Signature Tastes (100g €3.10), adding some cheese hearts on the side. A happy start to the day, but also good with drinks later. Focaccia from English Market, Cork, and selected Dunnes Stores nationwide.
Pitted olives blended with olive oil, parsley, and a clove of garlic make an easy, cheap paste. Or you could buy this excellent Real Olive tapenade. It pairs well with hard-boiled or scrambled eggs. I would also suggest buying its sublime feta salad. Both are perfect companions for a selection of crackers – beetroot from M&S, oatmeal from On the Pig’s Back, and cheese twists from Dunnes. Delicious for brunch. From the English Market, Cork.
Halved and de-seeded Galia melons (€2.45 each) make nice receptacles for this crunchy granola, topped with good quality Greek yogurt (I chose the consistently good Glenisk 450g €3.49). I finished it with the delicious new Folláin Spoonfuls blueberry, cherry, chia, and pumpkin seed topper (320g, €3.99). A wholesome start to the day. Looks pretty too.
A fried egg is the base here, but we could also start with a round of toasted sourdough. I halved a rectangle of this dense black pudding, then used a heart-shaped cutter to press through the pudding slices before frying lightly. I topped them with home-made pickled shredded raw cabbage, made from onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. You’ll find plenty of ready-made jars of pickled cabbage in supermarkets.
This delicious sandwich caught my eye. The traditional béchamel sauce lifts a regular ham-and-cheese sandwich, reminding us of holidays in France. A béchamel (white) sauce is easily made in advance and flavoured with a teaspoonful of Dijon mustard. In the morning, spread on toast, inside and on top, with cheese and ham before grilling or air frying. Impressive.
After a savoury start, a selection of sweet treats can include the delicious large triangular vanilla custard-filled French-style Jésuite, which couldn’t fit into our pictures. The bakery also does very good chocolate custard-filled éclairs, along with the pictured raspberry meringue, praline slice, and raspberry and mango sponge. All light and perfect for sharing.
These eight light, small croissants and pains au chocolat are handy to have in the freezer and can be cooked in an air fryer or oven. I also love the pains au raisin from The Baking Emporium, Dunmanway, which are available in markets (I bought in the Wednesday Ballincollig market). Beautifully sticky, with good-quality currants and marzipan. A substantial treat which can be shared (€3.80). Smoked salmon in plain croissants is delicious.
