What easy brunch dishes could my teenagers make for Mother’s Day?
Joe, Cardiff
With only a day (or less than that, depending on when you’re reading this) to go, you don’t have long to get those teens organised, Joe, so let’s focus on brunches that rely on staple ingredients. For cook and food writer Claire Thomson, that means eggy bread. “You can’t really mess that up,” says the author of Home Cookery Year. Eggy bread, of course, is where you mix eggs and milk, dip in slices of bread, then fry on both sides in melted butter (or hot oil) until crisp. “The kids have it with ketchup or whatever they want, and Matt [Thomson’s husband] and I have it with chipotle hot sauce, avocado and sliced ripe tomatoes.” And that’s the brilliance of eggy bread: you can take it in whatever direction you fancy. “Go savoury or sweet – sliced fruit, maple syrup, a dusting of cinnamon and perhaps a bit of salt is a good one.”
Crumpets, meanwhile, are the edible equivalent of a hug. Happily, Thomson says, they’re also “a really good vehicle for brunch”, with a fried egg, bacon and hot sauce. Sweet or savoury spreads are an easy win or, for some serious carb-based comfort, top lightly toasted crumpets with rarebit mix and grill until bubbling. If you can squeeze in a trip to the shops, channel Guardian columnist Yotam Ottolenghi and up the ante by adding tamarind paste to a mix of English mustard, grated mature cheddar and double cream, and serve on crumpets with piccalilli on the side.
“Bircher muesli is another great thing for kids to make for their mums, because you do it the night before,” Thomson says. Tonight, soak oats and, if it’s your mum’s thing, some dried fruit in apple juice, then, just before eating, top the oats with grated apple, yoghurt and maybe some nuts. “Use plant-based milks to make it more interesting – almond milk and poached rhubarb [instead of apple] is nice and seasonal.”
Alternatively, make granola. A banana version is a big hit in the Thomson household, and has the added benefit of containing less sugar than most shop-bought ones.
Bananas and oats could also be destined for pancakes. To serve two, the Guardian’s Ravneet Gill combines a couple of mashed bananas with an egg, two teaspoons of honey and two tablespoons of ricotta. In another bowl, she mixes 50g wholemeal flour, 20g rolled oats, a pinch of salt and a half-teaspoon of baking powder, then mixes in the wet ingredients and you’re ready to start cooking.
Or go for baker and food writer Claire Ptak’s favoured batter-based option, a Dutch baby. “They are so fun to make, and a bit more of a challenge than regular pancakes,” says the owner of Violet Bakery in east London. The batter (eggs, whole milk, flour) for this puffy pancake is baked in a hot cast-iron pan for about 20 minutes, so those teenagers will need to get up on time. “Drizzle with lemon and sugar or chocolate sauce, or serve with crisp smoked bacon or sausages. Mum will love you even more.”
Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
