Read Super Natural Every Day Online
Authors: Heidi Swanson
Super Natural Every Day (6 page)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
475 ml milk
6 large eggs
225 g day-old wholemeal bread, cut into 1 cm cubes
85 g baby spinach, finely chopped
70 g feta cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped
Rub a splash of olive oil in a 23 cm-square baking dish (or equivalent). Alternatively, line it with baking paper. Sprinkle the baking dish or baking paper with lemon zest and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper with a splash of the milk. Whisk in the rest of the milk and the eggs.
Put the bread in the prepared baking dish and top with the spinach and half of the feta. Gently toss with your hands—just enough that the spinach and cheese mixes with all those pieces of bread. Make sure the bread is relatively level in the baking dish. Very slowly drizzle the egg mixture over the bread and sprinkle with the remaining feta. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, when you are ready to bake the strata, preheat the oven to 175°C (Gas Mark 3–4) with a rack in the top third of the oven.
Bake the strata, uncovered, for 45–55 minutes, until the egg is set in the middle and the edges are browned. You need to cut into it a bit to be sure it is well cooked, particularly in the centre. It can be a bit tricky to tell; err on the side of overdone versus underdone. I like to brown the top a bit more under a low grill to finish it off, but it’s an optional extra step. Skip this step if you’ve lined your dish with baking paper. Serve warm, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with the fresh oregano.
SERVES 6
APPLES, RASPBERRIES, GRAPES, FIGS, PEACHES
 | My friend Jennifer Jeffrey made this jewel-toned beauty of a fruit salad as part of a breakfast we had while on a weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe. It was early autumn and the range of colours in the fruit she used was vibrant and stunning—sunset-streaked nectarines alongside raspberries a shade of deep pink reserved for only the juiciest of lip glosses. Use whatever fruit is in season where you live, and the most flavourful you can find. If you pre-cut the apples or pears, keep them in a some mild lemon water (1.2 litres water mixed with the juice of one lemon) so they don’t brown. Then drain well before using. |
140 g raspberries, cut in half
280 g seedless grapes, whole or cut in half
6 small fresh figs, quartered
2 small apples or pears, cored and cut into 2.5 cm pieces
1 large nectarine, stoned and cut into 2.5 cm pieces
Big squeeze of fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, chopped (optional)
Drizzle of honey
Just before serving, combine the raspberries, grapes, figs, apples, and nectarine in a large bowl. Add the orange juice, mint, and honey. Toss very gently. The last thing you want is for the fruit to get banged up and mushy. Serve immediately.
SERVES 4–6
WHOLEMEAL WHOLEGRAIN BREAD, FRESH EGGS
| This breakfast is all about the crunch of buttery toast playing off a single, delicate egg cooked in the bread’s centre. I call it sun toast, but you might recognise it by one of its other names: egg in a hole, bull’s-eye, egg on a raft, or, for the more literal-minded, framed egg. |
2.5 cm-thick slice artisan wholemeal wholegrain bread
1 large egg
Slather of unsalted butter
1 garlic clove
Use a 4 cm-round cookie cutter to cut a circle out of the middle of the piece of bread. You’ll use both pieces, so don’t throw the little circle away. Butter the bread and the circle on both sides.
Place the bread pieces in a large frying pan over medium–low heat. Toast both sides of each but don’t let them get too dark at this point. You don’t want the butter to smoke or the bread to burn. Once toasted, carefully crack the egg into the hole in the bread and let it cook until the egg white sets and looks about halfway done. Use a spatula to flip and cook the other side until deeply golden, a few minutes all told. The little round piece might be done more quickly; if so, just remove it from the pan. Do your best to avoid scorching the egg, but cook it to your liking—less time if you like it on the runny side, more if you like it set.
Place everything on a plate and the garlic clove along the surface of the bread. I like to make these to order, one at a time, served alongside a freshly brewed coffee.
SERVES 1
There are a few secrets to share here. For starters, seek out a loaf of unsliced artisan bread, and use the best eggs you can get your hands on. I buy a wholemeal wholegrain bread from a local bakery, but your favourite loaf will work just as well. A mostly straightsided bread and a slice cut from its centre is most desirable. As far as technique goes, you are trying to get the toast deeply golden without scorching or overcooking the eggs. Be mindful of the thickness of your toast, as well as the size of the hole you cut from the centre. Too thick a slice or too big a hole and the egg won’t fill it. Too thin a slice or too small a hole and the egg will overflow. Still tastes good, just not as nice to look at.
COCONUT MILK, TOASTED ALMONDS, POPPY SEEDS
| Porridge lovers should give this a go. Tiny flecks of burghul are simmered in coconut milk until the grains soften and become thick and creamy. Finish things off with a touch of lemon zest, poppy seeds, almonds for crunch, and a kiss of local honey, and you have a nice bowl of hot, toothsome breakfast cereal that should keep you full until lunch. |
240 ml coconut milk
About 355 ml water
140 g fine or medium burghul
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons poppy seeds
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
30 g flaked almonds, toasted (see
Wholegrain Breadcrumbs
)
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the coconut milk and 180 ml of the water to a simmer. Stir in the burghul, bring the mixture just to a boil, then dial down the heat and simmer the mixture, stirring often, for 5–20 minutes, or until the burghul is creamy, but still retains some texture. The size of the burghul grains will dictate how long they need to cook. If the liquid in the pan is absorbed before the burghul has fully cooked, stir in more water, 60 ml at a time, until done. Stir in the poppy seeds, lemon zest, and honey. Serve hot in individual bowls, topped with the toasted almonds.
SERVES 4
Burghul is quick-cooking cracked wheat that has been boiled, dried, and ground into various sizes. I use fine- or medium-grain burghul for this recipe. The finer the burghul, the quicker it cooks. When I’m short on time, I grab fine-grain, and when I have a bit more time, I grab medium-grain.
| Durable but not dense, sweet but not sugary, crunchy, and just a smidge lemony—this is what my friend Jess Thomson had to say about her millet muffins. It was just enough to convince me to get a batch in the oven. They bake into golden-topped perfection: moist, honey-kissed, and delightfully textured. My two-year-old nephew loves them plain, but I think they’re perfect slathered with salted butter and boozy |