That was a long break. Summer, sweet and long. You were probably wondering what to eat. I know, I did too.
Don’t despair, I have notes. We will share some summery Vegies for Breakfast ideas, as the cool of the autumn creeps in and we wait for daylight savings to click over.
This summer I worked a LOT. Early starts, busy days. High impact, deeply intensive days. Shopping time was limited, so the freezer was my most reliable food source. The breakfast had to keep me going well past lunch. Breakfast had to be high impact and deeply intensive. As the summer whisked past, time in bed became more important than getting up to eat. Brekkie time had to be fast. This dish was devised to suit those purposes.
You’ll need your simplest frypan. This can be thin based or a crepe pan, or lighter non stick style, which you find easy to maneuver. A wide ended lifter (spatula). A bowl and a fork.
2 cubes frozen spinach
1 egg
salt, pepper, oil, butter
Defrost the spinach cubes over night in the fridge, in a small bowl. If this is too much forward planning for you, defrost them in the microwave for one minute (but try not to let them get too hot- the steam can cook the egg!). Place the frypan on medium high heat and warm about two tablespoons of olive oil and one of butter until the butter is foamy. While the pan is heating, using a fork, beat the egg into the spinach until completely mixed through, the spinach is thoroughly coated and bound up in the egg. This is a kind of spinach-y batter. Season with salt and pepper. When the butter is foamy tip the whole spinach-egg mixture into the pan and with a fork spread it out as thinly as it can go (about the size of a bread and butter plate). Allow to cook for several minutes- until the sides of the pancake are fluffy, crunchy and set well and the middle is holding together. Then (this may take a few tries, don’t worry, you’ll get it, and if it breaks or collapses in the meantime the pancake is still delicious- zero failure rate!) carefully slide your spatula under the pancake and tilting the pan to help catch it, flip the pancake over. Cook until fluffy, toasty and set through.
While the pancake is cooking on this side you can lay on some toppings or fillings, which can be anything like:
tin of sardines or tuna, oil and all, a crumble of feta, smear of cream cheese, old cheddar ends, any cheese is good, kimchi, avocado, leftover mushy vegies like pumpkin, roast sweet potato, cauliflower, brocolli, leftover dahl or rice, relish or a mix of any of these things.
The heat of the pancake will warm the toppings through, or you can fold the pancake in half and the filling will quickly warm up as it finishes cooking. The secret of the toppings is not too much! A thin layer, just to add that extra something else, is enough.
Slide or lift onto a plate, as you would an omelette and eat.
My most favourite fillings were avocado and harissa, feta and sardines or mushy cauliflower and lentils. This dish worked as hard as I did this summer and I was always happy to eat it.
Great to have you here, hope to see you all again next week!
