BREAKFAST AROUND THE WORLD
Bored with the same old same old? Take inspiration from these global breakfast dishes and give your next home brunch an international flavour.
1. EZOGELIN CORBASI
This slightly spicy and satisfyingly heart-warming orange-hued lentil soup is a popular way to start the day in Turkey, served with hunks of warm pide (bread).
Origins
Legend has it that a beautiful but unhappy bride named Ezo attempted to impress her future mother-in-law by cooking this soup, hence the name Ezogelin (“Ezo, the bride”). References to red lentil soup and its soothing properties can be found in Turkish medicinal manuscripts, as far back as the 14th century. Prepared with unripe grape juice or vinegar, or even chicken meat, the soup was deemed a cure for everything from headaches to the flu and smallpox.
You’ll need: 1 Tbsp butter 1 tsp flour 1 Tbsp tomato paste 1 Tbsp red pepper paste (or an equal quantity of additional tomato paste) 1 Tbsp dried mint 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or an equal quantity of hot paprika), plus extra to serve 1 cup red lentils, washed but not soaked ⅓ cup bulgur wheat 5 cups vegetable stock Lemon wedges, to serve
Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a paste. Cook the flour paste, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, red pepper paste, dried mint and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the red lentils, bulgur wheat and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2030 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon and red pepper flakes to taste.
Tasting Notes
As a breakfast item or afternoon snack in Turkey, Ezogelin Corbasi is light and delicately flavoured with just enough kick from the distinctive red pepper flakes, an indigenous condiment found all over Turkey that is used to season most foods in the same way as salt and pepper are employed elsewhere. The addition of chunks of tomato and other flavourful spices, a popular way of preparing the soup in Anatolia, makes for a hearty and satisfying meal in its own right. Hot from the soup pot, soft lentils and cracked bulgur wheat give an earthy, mealy texture while the quintessential Turkish triumvirate flavourings of dried mint, red pepper paste and red pepper flakes lend the soup a uniquely aromatic and exotic character, which is virtually impossible to replicate with substitute ingredients.
2. SHAKSHOUKA
Gorgeously rich and smoky, this breakfast of eggs, red pepper and tomato sauce gives you a warm glow that will last the rest of the day.
Origins
Morocco, Libya and Tunisia all claim shakshouka as their own, but these assertions are hotly disputed in Israel, where shakshouka is practically considered a national dish. The name is also up for debate: an evolution of chakchouka, the Berber word for “ragout”; derived from leshakshej meaning ‘to shake’ in Hebrew; or adopted from shakshouka, which is Arabic slang for “all mixed up”.
You’ll need: 1½ Tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, peeled and sliced 1 large red capsicum, deseeded and thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp paprika Cayenne pepper, to taste 400g tinned whole plum tomatoes with juice, roughly chopped Salt and ground black pepper, to taste 4 eggs Coriander, chopped to garnish Fresh bread, to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 190C. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and capsicum.
Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until softened. Stir in the cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute. Pour the tomatoes into the frying pan. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Using the back of a spoon, create four hollows in the sauce for the eggs to sit in. Gently crack the eggs into the frying pan over the tomatoes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the frying pan to the oven. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until the eggs are set. Sprinkle with coriander and serve immediately, with fresh bread if you like.
3. DINKELBROT
This traditional spelt-based loaf is the very essence of comfort, and embodies the German predilection for all things cosy, wholesome, earthy and nutritious.
Origins
The enduring popularity of dinkelbrot (literally spelt bread) stems from the fact that spelt, or dinkel, was the favoured grain of Hildegarde von Bingen, a medieval nun, composer, philosopher and natural scientist. A millennium later, she’s still Germany’s favourite health and wellbeing guru, and her oft-quoted guide to physical and spiritual vitality
recommends eating spelt to promote everything from bigger muscles to a cheerful disposition.
You’ll need; ½ cup spelt flakes (rolled spelt) 325ml water (warm in winter, cold in summer) 100g seeds — sunflower, linseed or pumpkin, plus extra for rolling (optional) 2½ cups ground spelt — wholemeal or white 275ml water 1½ tsp salt 1 tsp fresh yeast, or ½ tsp dried yeast 1 tsp spices — aniseed or caraway (optional)
Place the spelt flakes and 50ml water in a bowl. Soak overnight. If you wish to add seeds to the bread, you can soak them separately in the same weight of water (i.e. 100g sunflower seeds in 100g water) overnight as well. Put the soaked spelt flakes (and seeds, if using) and all the other ingredients in the mixing bowl of a food mixer and mix 15 minutes on slow, then 2 minutes on the second speed. If mixing by hand, knead until the dough comes off the side of the bowl (the dough should be smooth and lightly shiny on the surface). Put the dough in a bowl and let it rest for 4-6 hours at room temperature (it’s not essential but it makes the bread less dense if you fold or press down the dough an hour before shaping it).
Shape the dough into an oval ball. If you like, roll the dough in seeds or extra spelt flakes, then put it in a greased loaf pan. Using a knife, slash the loaf down the centre. Sprinkle extra seeds on top. Again, let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature. Place the loaf in the fridge and leave it to rest overnight for at least 12 hours, but no more than 20 hours. Take the dough out of the fridge then preheat oven to 220C. Put the bread in the oven, reduce the temperature to 200C and bake it for 4550 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Tasting Notes
A visit to any German supermarket reveals that the national standout food is bread, and the rich, earthy aromas wafting from the local bakery in every neighbourhood attest to the nation’s expertise in all things bready. German breakfast is invariably comprised of fresh bread served on a wooden board with an array of toppings — butter, cheese, ham, and fruit preserves. Germans traditionally sat down to their main hot meal at lunchtime, but modern work life being what it is, they’re now just as likely to tuck into an open sandwich served on dinkelbrot. Baked after minimal kneading, dinkelbrot has a firm, solid texture and nutty flavour enhanced by the toasted seeds that dot its dark honeycoloured crust. Best tasted with nothing more than a generous smear of butter.
4. ACAI BOWL
It looks like icecream, and tastes like ice cream, but this tropical Brazilian superfood snack couldn’t be healthier. Refreshingly cool and satisfyingly filling, it’s heaven in a bowl.
Origins
The berries of the Amazonian acai palm were barely known outside the Amazon until the 1970s. In the following decade the legendary Brazilian ju-jitsu founder Carlos Gracie popularised acai bowl in Rio de Janeiro, and it wasn’t long before local surfers adopted the snack as the perfect post-session pick-me-up. In the early noughties, the first batch of acai pulp winged its way to the USA, and Hawaii and Southern California became the first places where acai bowl found a foreign home. It’s now found from Sydney to London.
You’ll need: 2 heaped Tbsp freeze-dried acai powder or about 110g slightly thawed acai pulp 2 heaped Tbsp milled seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc) ⅔ cup almond milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or apple juice 1½ cups frozen blueberries and/or sliced banana For the toppings ⅔ cup fresh seasonal berries and/or figs 1 ripe banana, sliced 4 Tbs muesli or oats 2 Tbsp seeds or other toppings (try flaxseed, chia seeds, shredded coconut and/or bee pollen)
Blend the acai powder/pulp with the milled seeds, liquid and frozen fruit. Add more liquid until it reaches the desired consistency, according to your personal taste. Transfer the mixture to a breakfast bowl and serve immediately. Top the mixture with fresh berries and/ or figs, sliced banana, muesli (or oats) and seeds, in whichever combination you prefer.
Tip: Choose the liquid to blend with the acai powder/pulp to suit your personal taste; the milkier the liquid, the creamier the mixture will be.
Tasting Notes
Waking up on a hot, sticky morning on the Brazilian seaside, the cool combination of berries and nuts in an acai bowl provide the ultimate wake-up call, with a health kick to boot. With a similar consistency to lightly-defrosted gelato, the rich, deep-purple acai pulp or powder mixture forms the basis of this attractive tropical dish. Traditional Brazilian toppings include sliced banana and a sprinkling of granola, but Western cafes usually also offer an additional range of healthy toppings such as blueberries, shaved coconut, seeds and nuts. While the acai mixture, which tastes a little bit like blackberries mixed with dark chocolate, is deliciously moreish by itself, the crunch of nuts provides delightful texture.