Let’s get avocontrol: brunch week

Vanilla and blueberry French toast

• 2 slices of bread
• 1 egg
• 40ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• A handful of blueberries

1. In a bowl, mix together the egg, milk, vanilla extract, and a sprinkling cinnamon.
2. Coat the bread evenly with this mixture.
3. Melt a little butter in a frying pan, and add the coated bread when hot. Cook on each side for approximately 2 minutes.
4. Serve with honey and blueberries.

Frico eggs

(This was by far my favourite dish to make and eat this week…and I had a pretty good run of breakfasts)

• 2 tbsp of grated cheddar cheese (or gruyere if you’re feeling fancy)
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• Avocado
• Diced tomato

1. Heat vegetable oil in a small frying pan. Add the grated cheese and flatten into a circle with a spatula.
2. As the cheese starts to melt, crack the egg in the middle of the cheese.
3. Leave to fry until the egg is cooked.
4. Season, and serve with chopped avocado and tomato.

Chorizo, egg and kale

(Please ignore the cringingly soppy heart shaped theme to this dish on my photo; I made it on Valentine’s Day).

• 50g chorizo
• 200g kale
• 2 eggs
• Salt & pepper
• Chilli flakes, oregano, rosemary

1. In a tablespoon of olive oil fry the diced chorizo on a medium heat. Remove the chorizo, but leave its juices in the pan.
2. Form nests of kale in the pan, with a centre for the eggs to cook in. Crack the eggs into the centres. Sprinkle chilli flakes, oregano and rosemary on the kale.
3. When cooked, assemble on a plate with the chorizo and season.

Fig and ricotta on sourdough bread

• 2 slices of (sourdough) toast
• 2 tbsp of ricotta
• 2 figs
• 4 walnuts
• ½ tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of honey

Ricotta is an underrated cheese. It’s cheap (£1 for a tub which will last several servings), versatile as it can be used in sweet or savoury dishes, and healthy (only 33cal per 30g portion). I’ve simply spread a tablespoon on each slice of toast and covered with cinnamon, honey, figs, and walnuts.

Apple crumble porridge

• Porridge oats
• Milk
• Raisons
• Grated apple
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Granola

1. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, and raisons to your milk and porridge oats before you put it in the microwave for 1 minute.
2. Remove, grate in an apple (I used a vegetable peeler so it was more chunky) then put back in for a further minute.
3. Serve with a sprinkling of granola.

Rocky road porridge

• Mini marshmallows
• Chocolate raisons or peanuts
• Dried fruit and nuts of your preference

I’m not going to insult your intelligence and tell you how to pour rocky road related confectionary onto cooked porridge…

Further alternative porridge creations

• Peanut butter, jam and banana porridge
• Chocolate strawberry porridge – simply shovel in cocoa powder into your oats and milk before it’s microwaved. I use Green & Black’s dark chocolate powder for ultimate indulgence.