Breakfast in bed: sweet potato eggs benedict, rhubarb fool and a cuppa
Breakfast in bed can split opinion: for some, the piles of crumbs on the duvet is just too much; for others, like me, it’s a treat. With a few more days to play with this weekend, I’d say the chances of a breakfast in bed are peaking for lots of you. I’ve got my fingers crossed.
As I sat down to write this column I realised it is the stuff of fantasy. With a one-year-old, breakfast in bed has not been on my radar much. The idea of a lazy morning under the duvet with the newspapers seems about as likely as a trip to the moon. But I’ve spent a long time daydreaming about what would be on my tray should the occasion present itself.
And this is it. A quick breakfast rhubarb fool, for which the fruit is macerated rather than cooked – this leaves it with a texture that can be lost when stewed. In the morning, the rhubarb is stirred though whipped yoghurt, ricotta and some oats that have been soaked overnight. A simple assembly.
Next to that, I’d like this version of eggs benedict (on the cover): sunny yolks stacked on top of roasted slices of sweet potato (which stand in for muffins) and dressed with a light alternative to hollandaise sauce: avo, cashews and tarragon whizzed into a cream. Served with sticky red onions and wilted spinach, it’s a delight.
I’ve also included a couple of ideas for easy morning tea blends: one vibrant cupful as pink as a gemstone; and another a more classic blend of rose and cinnamon that I drink year round.
Sweet potato eggs benedict (pictured above)To get a creamy sauce I soak my cashew nuts in water overnight, but if you forget, half an hour’s soaking will do. For this recipe, you need to get your hands on sweet potatoes that are large enough that, once they have been cut into slices, you can sit the poached eggs on top.
Serves 4
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1cm-thick rounds
Salt and black pepper
Olive or rapeseed oil
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
6 handfuls of spinach, washed and any big stalks removed
4 eggs
For the sauce
A small handful of cashew nuts, soaked in water (see above) then drained
½ avocado
A small bunch of fresh tarragon or dill, leaves picked
Juice of ½ a lime
1 Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Lay the sweet potato slices on a couple of baking trays, season with salt and pepper, drizzle lightly with oil and roast for 20 minutes, or until soft throughout and crisping at the edges.
2 Now, on to the onions. Put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a little oil, then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft, sweet and starting to brown. Scoop them into a bowl and set to one side, keeping the pan to use later.
3 To make the hollandaise, blitz the drained cashews in a food processor until you have a crumbly paste. Add the avocado and most of the tarragon or dill with the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then blitz again. If you need to, loosen the sauce with a little water until it is thick, but drizzleable.
4 Heat the pan you cooked the onions in on a medium heat. Add the spinach and a drop of olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes, until it starts to wilt but is still vivid green.
5 Next, poach the eggs. Heat a pan of water until boiling – I use a frying pan, but use whatever pan is most comfortable for you to poach eggs in. Turn the heat down until the water is barely blipping, then crack in the eggs and leave them to cook for 3–4 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
6 To serve, lay some of the sweet potatoes in the middle of each plate. Top with the onions and wilted spinach, then add the egg and a spoonful of hollandaise. Scatter over the rest of the tarragon or dill, season with salt and pepper and dig in.
Overnight breakfast rhubarb foolYou’ll need to begin this recipe the night before, but if that’s a bridge too far you could simmer the rhubarb mixture in a pan for 5 minutes. It won’t have quite the same texture, but it will still be completely delicious.
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Worth the wait: overnight breakfast rhubarb fool. Photograph: Issy Croker for the GuardianServes 4
450g rhubarb, very finely sliced on the diagonal
45g unrefined caster sugar
¼ tsp orange blossom water
Juice and zest of 1 orange
50g porridge oats
200g ricotta
200g Greek yoghurt
3 tbsp clear honey, plus a little more to drizzle on top
1 Put the rhubarb, sugar, orange blossom water, orange zest and half its juice in a bowl, stir well to combine, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight, allowing the rhubarb to macerate.
2 Squeeze the remaining orange juice over the oats, cover with clingfilm and leave overnight to soak.
3 Mix the ricotta and Greek yoghurt together, then put in sieve lined with a (very) clean cloth over a bowl. Refrigerate overnight to allow lots of the liquid to drain.
4 The next morning, discard the ricotta and Greek yoghurt liquid. Give the cloth a good squeeze. You should be left with a lovely firm ball of ricotta and yoghurt. Put in a large bowl, add the honey and whip to soft peaks. Add the soaked oats and stir through.
Anna Jones’s recipes for sunny egg muffins and spring veg tart
Read more5 Drain most of the liquid from the macerated rhubarb (you could reduce this over a low heat to make a syrup, if you like) and stir the rhubarb into the yoghurt mixture. Taste. You may like to add a little more honey.
6 Dollop the fool into small serving glasses, topping with a little honey and bee pollen, if you like.
Two favourite herbal tea blends to tryRuby red tea
I sometimes sweeten this with a little honey. The ingredients are easily and quite cheaply available online or in health food shops.
1 lemon
2 tbsp hibiscus flowers
2 tbsp rosehips
2 tbsp dried rose petals
1 Peel thick strips of zest from the lemon with a speed peeler, then put in a low oven to dry out for 20 minutes. Once cool, chop finely and add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Store in an airtight jar for up to three months.
2 To brew, take 1 tbsp per person and steep for 4-5 minutes in water that has just come off the boil, then pour into cups though a tea strainer. You can brew the tea twice.
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Ruby red tea and rose and cinnamon tea. Photograph: Issy Croker for the GuardianRose and cinnamon
4 cinnamon sticks
4 tbsp rose petals
1 Crush the cinnamon stick into little shards with your hands, then mix with the rose petals. Store in an airtight jar for up to three months.
2 To brew, take 1 tbsp per person and steep for 4-5 minutes in water that has just come off the boil, then pour into cups though a tea strainer. You can brew this tea twice, too..
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/16/sweet-potato-eggs-benedict-recipe-breakfast-in-bed-anna-jones
As I sat down to write this column I realised it is the stuff of fantasy. With a one-year-old, breakfast in bed has not been on my radar much. The idea of a lazy morning under the duvet with the newspapers seems about as likely as a trip to the moon. But I’ve spent a long time daydreaming about what would be on my tray should the occasion present itself.
And this is it. A quick breakfast rhubarb fool, for which the fruit is macerated rather than cooked – this leaves it with a texture that can be lost when stewed. In the morning, the rhubarb is stirred though whipped yoghurt, ricotta and some oats that have been soaked overnight. A simple assembly.
Next to that, I’d like this version of eggs benedict (on the cover): sunny yolks stacked on top of roasted slices of sweet potato (which stand in for muffins) and dressed with a light alternative to hollandaise sauce: avo, cashews and tarragon whizzed into a cream. Served with sticky red onions and wilted spinach, it’s a delight.
I’ve also included a couple of ideas for easy morning tea blends: one vibrant cupful as pink as a gemstone; and another a more classic blend of rose and cinnamon that I drink year round.
Sweet potato eggs benedict (pictured above)To get a creamy sauce I soak my cashew nuts in water overnight, but if you forget, half an hour’s soaking will do. For this recipe, you need to get your hands on sweet potatoes that are large enough that, once they have been cut into slices, you can sit the poached eggs on top.
Serves 4
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1cm-thick rounds
Salt and black pepper
Olive or rapeseed oil
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
6 handfuls of spinach, washed and any big stalks removed
4 eggs
For the sauce
A small handful of cashew nuts, soaked in water (see above) then drained
½ avocado
A small bunch of fresh tarragon or dill, leaves picked
Juice of ½ a lime
1 Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Lay the sweet potato slices on a couple of baking trays, season with salt and pepper, drizzle lightly with oil and roast for 20 minutes, or until soft throughout and crisping at the edges.
2 Now, on to the onions. Put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a little oil, then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft, sweet and starting to brown. Scoop them into a bowl and set to one side, keeping the pan to use later.
3 To make the hollandaise, blitz the drained cashews in a food processor until you have a crumbly paste. Add the avocado and most of the tarragon or dill with the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then blitz again. If you need to, loosen the sauce with a little water until it is thick, but drizzleable.
4 Heat the pan you cooked the onions in on a medium heat. Add the spinach and a drop of olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes, until it starts to wilt but is still vivid green.
5 Next, poach the eggs. Heat a pan of water until boiling – I use a frying pan, but use whatever pan is most comfortable for you to poach eggs in. Turn the heat down until the water is barely blipping, then crack in the eggs and leave them to cook for 3–4 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
6 To serve, lay some of the sweet potatoes in the middle of each plate. Top with the onions and wilted spinach, then add the egg and a spoonful of hollandaise. Scatter over the rest of the tarragon or dill, season with salt and pepper and dig in.
Overnight breakfast rhubarb foolYou’ll need to begin this recipe the night before, but if that’s a bridge too far you could simmer the rhubarb mixture in a pan for 5 minutes. It won’t have quite the same texture, but it will still be completely delicious.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Worth the wait: overnight breakfast rhubarb fool. Photograph: Issy Croker for the GuardianServes 4
450g rhubarb, very finely sliced on the diagonal
45g unrefined caster sugar
¼ tsp orange blossom water
Juice and zest of 1 orange
50g porridge oats
200g ricotta
200g Greek yoghurt
3 tbsp clear honey, plus a little more to drizzle on top
1 Put the rhubarb, sugar, orange blossom water, orange zest and half its juice in a bowl, stir well to combine, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight, allowing the rhubarb to macerate.
2 Squeeze the remaining orange juice over the oats, cover with clingfilm and leave overnight to soak.
3 Mix the ricotta and Greek yoghurt together, then put in sieve lined with a (very) clean cloth over a bowl. Refrigerate overnight to allow lots of the liquid to drain.
4 The next morning, discard the ricotta and Greek yoghurt liquid. Give the cloth a good squeeze. You should be left with a lovely firm ball of ricotta and yoghurt. Put in a large bowl, add the honey and whip to soft peaks. Add the soaked oats and stir through.
Anna Jones’s recipes for sunny egg muffins and spring veg tart
Read more5 Drain most of the liquid from the macerated rhubarb (you could reduce this over a low heat to make a syrup, if you like) and stir the rhubarb into the yoghurt mixture. Taste. You may like to add a little more honey.
6 Dollop the fool into small serving glasses, topping with a little honey and bee pollen, if you like.
Two favourite herbal tea blends to tryRuby red tea
I sometimes sweeten this with a little honey. The ingredients are easily and quite cheaply available online or in health food shops.
1 lemon
2 tbsp hibiscus flowers
2 tbsp rosehips
2 tbsp dried rose petals
1 Peel thick strips of zest from the lemon with a speed peeler, then put in a low oven to dry out for 20 minutes. Once cool, chop finely and add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Store in an airtight jar for up to three months.
2 To brew, take 1 tbsp per person and steep for 4-5 minutes in water that has just come off the boil, then pour into cups though a tea strainer. You can brew the tea twice.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Ruby red tea and rose and cinnamon tea. Photograph: Issy Croker for the GuardianRose and cinnamon
4 cinnamon sticks
4 tbsp rose petals
1 Crush the cinnamon stick into little shards with your hands, then mix with the rose petals. Store in an airtight jar for up to three months.
2 To brew, take 1 tbsp per person and steep for 4-5 minutes in water that has just come off the boil, then pour into cups though a tea strainer. You can brew this tea twice, too..
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/16/sweet-potato-eggs-benedict-recipe-breakfast-in-bed-anna-jones