by Jules Clancy

Sunday brunch. It has to be up there as one of the best meals of the week. A time for big generous tables. A time for sharing with loved ones. A time for relaxing and chatting over the papers. A time for not having to be anywhere else. A time for multiple cups of tea or coffee. A time for indulgence. I’ve pulled together a few Sunday brunch suggestions that have been on high rotation in our house. Bring on the weekend.

i. the big breakfast

If you’re going to be talking brunch. A fry up should definitely be on the cards every now and then. Think fried egg, think bacon, think mushrooms, think sausages at the very least. For the more adventurous pork lovers theres black pudding and even white pudding or you could go for more veg with some slow roasted tomato or get your vegetable intake though some home made chilli jam.

ii ricotta and basil frittata

For a more healthy vegetarian brunch, it’s hard to go past a simple omelette or frittata. With a little help from ricotta and basil it ticks all the boxes for the perfect start to the day. Quick, fresh and only four ingredients, a sure winner.

iii. fake baked beans

Cooking baked beans from scratch involves a serious amount of preparation – soaking beans, cooking beans, baking with sauce. Then just opening a can of commercially prepared beans probably isn’t going to wow your guests. But these little beauties are a happy medium. Using canned beans to save time but your own sauce making skills to maximize flavour – you’re guests will never know that you weren’t up at the crack of dawn.

iv. things on toast

Toast is such a standard breakfast item, I know it can seem a little too simple to serve as a brunch. But add some avocado and slow roasted tomatoes and even some baked ricotta that you prepared in advance and your sourdough will suddenly seem well up to scratch.

v. poached eggs & bacon with a bloody mary

If there’s even the remotest possibility that there may have been some bad behaviour the night before leading to some sore heads, a stock of bloody mary ingredients will do you in good stead. Toss in some delicately poached eggs with spinach on toast with a wicked side of bacon and you’re talking a well balanced brunch.

vi. banana bread with chocolate and hazelnuts

If you’re more of a sweet tooth in the morning, banana bread is a great bet. Make it the day before and then lightly toast to refresh and warm it up so your butter melts in that oh-so-satisfying way.

vii. baby pancakes

A brunch collection wouldn’t be complete without pancakes. I tend to shy away from making them for more than two people - a little too labour intensive but it’s up to you really.

viii. savoury French toast with mushrooms

If you love the texture of French toast, it’s really worth while trying out a savoury take on the whole thing. Add in some meaty mushrooms and it’s all good.

ix. asparagus with poached egg and prosciutto

If you’re lucky enough for it to be Springtime in your neck of the woods, make haste and get yourself a bunch or two of asparagus while they’re still in season. Fresh and green and just bursting with flavour, you’ll be tempted to serve this at any time of the day.

x. chorizo and eggs with cannellini beans

If the fake baked beans are a little bit too vegetarian for you - I’m thinking that the combo of chorizo and eggs in a tomatoey sauce will be just the thing. Guaranteed to cure any hangover at any time of the day, well almost.

Still hungry for more mouthwatering brunch ideas? You can find over 63,000 of them on the FoodieView Recipe Search Engine.

Stonesoup follows the culinary adventures of Sydney-based food and wine-lover, Jules Clancy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 8:15 am and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.