BREAKFAST

Twelve ways to spruce up your morning meal, from Japanese rolled omelettes to Israeli shakshuka

When it comes to breakfast, many of us have a routine we depend upon. Yet there’s always room for a bit of fresh thinking. From Bury black pudding and Mexican chilaquiles to Indian idli and Turkish menemen, here are 12 ways to shake things up — and add a little magic to your mornings

A plump pork sausage, fresh from the grill; a salty, smoked kipper with a perfectly poached egg; shakshuka, bubbling on the stove; a hot English muffin, devoured on the way to work. When it comes to breakfast, there’s no shortage of options, particularly in a country as multicultural as the UK. On any given day, in kitchens and cafes across the land, you’ll find the full spectrum of morning meals, from simple snacks such as toast, yoghurt and cereal to more elaborate dishes like dosas, frittatas and breakfast burritos.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve spent more time at home than we’d ever have thought possible, but, for many, the silver lining has been the chance to try new things, particularly in the kitchen. If we’re to keep this spirit of adventure alive, where better to start than with our morning routine? With this in mind, here are 12 ideas to get you going: a dozen delicious ways to start the day, inspired by cuisines from around the world.

There are ideas for home cooks, naturally, including popular alternatives to the classic eggs benedict and recipes for Israeli shakshuka, Vietnamese pho and Jamaica’s beloved ackee and saltfish. But breakfast has always played a starring role in travel, too — there’s nothing like lingering over an elaborate morning spread to really underline that wondrous feeling of having escaped your daily routine. So, to this end, there’s also some inspiration for the future, when we can once again go wherever — and eat whatever — we want, whether it’s menemen with rounds of fried Turkish bread in Istanbul or an early morning fish sandwich from Hamburg’s Sunday market.

But we start a little closer to home, with a look at the array of delicacies that go into traditional ‘full’ breakfasts across the British Isles. So, grab yourself a Bury black pudding, a dash of Welsh laverbread or a Staffordshire oatcake and start breakfasting better.