Breakfast | The Purple Foodie

I don’t always have an elaborate breakfast; maybe a fruit or a milkshake at times. But when I’m feeling a little indulgent, and I want to sit down and relish my breakfast, I make myself banana pancakes – topped with maple syrup and lots and lots of butter.

The soft and fluffy pancakes are a breeze to make, and they require basic ingredients; so you can have these ready in no time and have them every other day for breakfast. Unless of course, you’re in the habit of dousing it in butter, like me. This time around I added some semisweet chocolate chips to the pancakes – chocolates are always a good thing in the morning.

Chocolate Chip and Banana Pancakes
Yield: 4 pancakes

1 cup/125g all purpose flour
3 tbsp fine sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
3/4th cup/ 175ml milk
3 tbsp melted butter
1 banana, sliced
2-3 tbsp chocolate chips

In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, sugar and baking powder.
Make a well in the centre and add the egg. Whisk the egg to break it up. Add the milk. Incorporate the dry ingredients slowly by drawing in the dry ingredients from the walls. Keep stirring till it forms a homogeneous mixture.
Pour in the melted butter and stir till evenly incorporated.
Let it rest for 10-15 minutes (I tend to skip this when I’m in a rush).
Heat a non-stick pan. Brush with butter if the pan is a little old and not as non-sticky.
A Tip: For the gorgeous pockets for holding your maple syrup pour the batter from a height of 15-18 inches.
Pour a ladleful of the batter into the pan. Tilt the pan to spread the batter if you’d like thinner pancakes.
Half a minute into cooking, top the partially cooked pancake with the banana slices and chocolate chips.
Another tip: Refrigerate the bananas overnight or few hours before making the pancakes. This way the bananas won’t get mushy with the heat, but will remain firm.
Flip the pancake over after 2-3 minutes (peek through to check if it’s nice and golden).
Stack it up in a plate and serve it with honey or maple syrup.

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I’m not so much of a breakfast person. But once in a while, especially on a weekend I like to go slow and prepare myself something more elaborate and hearty. Over the past weekend as I browsed through the River Café Cookbook (which I got at 80% discount at a local sale!

), I came across this gorgeous Mint and Asparagus Frittata recipe. I added in some button mushrooms for good measure and the Frittata was ready in a snap.

It’d be good sandwiched in a crusty bread but I enjoyed eating it all by itself as well.

Asparagus, Mint and Mushroom Frittata
Yield: 3 servings
Adapted from: The Rive Café Cook Book

4 eggs
25g / 1oz. Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp mint, chopped
100g/ 4oz. asparagus
50g / 2 oz. button mushrooms, cut into chunks
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Chop off the woody ends of the asparagus and blanch in very hot water for a couple of minutes and then refresh. Sprinkle some salt and freshly ground pepper. Set aside.
Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl.
Add salt, Parmesan and mint.
In an oven proof pan, heat the oil till it’s very hot. Pour in the egg mixture and keep tilting till the egg in the pan is evenly distributed.
While it’s still runny, throw in the mushrooms and arrange the asparagus atop the egg mixture. Let it cook for a minute or two.
Now, slip the hot pan into a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F until the top is well set and slightly golden.
Transfer to a plate. Chop into wedges and serve with your favorite crusty bread!

What I really loved about the Frittata was how flavourful it was. Even when I took some leftover for lunch to work, I was hit by the aroma of the asparagus as opposed to an eggy smell that is quite expected. I absolutely loved this – now that I realise how awfully simple this is to make, I’m going to try different combinations each time around.

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