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AVOCADO, COTTAGE CHEESE AND CHERRY TOMATO TOAST


    Waking up to a healthy breakfast is all you need to start your day to boost that energy for the whole day. Wholemeal brown bread layered with cottage cheese and topped with sliced avocado, grilled cherry tomatoes and arugula. This is one of my favorite breakfasts which I eat like 2 to 3 times a week.


    If you love your eggs in breakfast like I do, top it with poached eggs or sunny side up. I made this a vegetarian version, and for those who are vegan, skip the cottage cheese and layer it with hummus or just some mashed avocado...top it with sautéed garlic mushrooms or grilled asparagus...there’s loads of toppings you can use to make it more delicious and interesting to have a variety in your everyday breakfast toast.

    SERVES: 2

    PREP TIME: 10 minutes

    COOKING TIME: 5 minutes



    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 large hass avocado, ripe but firm

    • 8 tbsp low fat cottage cheese

    • 10-12 cherry tomatoes

    • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

    • 1/2 cup baby arugula leaves, loosely packed, washed and dried

    • 4 wholemeal bread slices

    • Salt and pepper for seasoning



    METHOD

    1. In a small pan, warm extra virgin olive oil, drop cherry tomatoes, and grill for 5 minutes on a low heat until soft and slightly pulpy. Season them with salt and pepper.

    2. Lightly brush the bread slices with olive oil and toast them in a griddle pan on both sides. Spread 2 tbsp cottage cheese on top of each toast and season a little with salt and pepper.

    3. Cut the avocado in half, deseed and remove flesh from the skin with the help of a large table spoon. Be careful not to bruise the flesh. Slice it thinly with a sharp knife.

    4. Place a quarter of an avocado on each of the cottage cheese toasts, and top it with few cherry tomatoes and arugula leaves.

    5. If need be, season the avocado with a dash of salt and pepper.



    COOK'S NOTES:

    • Sprinkle a dash of lime or lemon zest on the cottage cheese will totally accentuate the flavours of the toast.

    • You can also serve with poached or sunny side egg on top.



    SHAKSHUKA



      Living in Middle East for more than a decade, you tend to adapt the eating habits of the prevailing local community. Shakshuka has become one of the favorite weekend breakfast for my family.


      Shakshuka is an easy to make one pot dish which loosely translates to ‘all- mixed up’ in Arabic. It’s a delicious dish that is full of flavour and is originated in North African countries like Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria but traveled to Middle Eastern countries and is adapted by them too. It has all different variations to make this dish. I’m sharing my version with you and I like serving it with pita bread which is perfect for sopping up those oozing egg yolks with delicious peppery tomato sauce and crumbled feta. Crusty bread goes really well with that too.

      SERVES: 4 people

      PREP TIME: 15 minutes

      COOKING TIME: 14 minutes

      TOTAL TIME: 29 minutes



      INGREDIENTS

      • 2 x 400g canned tomatoes, chopped

      • 1 onion, chopped

      • 3 cloves garlic, chopped

      • 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced

      • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

      • 1/2 tsp paprika

      • 1 tsp cumin powder

      • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black or mixed pepper

      • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

      • 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

      • 2 tsp sugar (optional)

      • 4 eggs

      For Garnishing:

      • 100g crumbled feta

      • 2 tbsp chopped parsley



      METHOD

      1. In a large pan, heat oil on medium low fire.

      2. Add onions, sauté for 1 minute and add garlic, cook for another minute and add chopped bell peppers, stir to cook for 2 minutes.

      3. Add paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin powder and salt, stir to roast the spices for a minute.

      4. Add tomatoes, stir to combine well, increase the flame and cook on medium high heat. Keep stirring in between for about 7-8 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and water from the tomatoes is evaporated but they are still moist.

      5. Add sugar and mix. Taste, season more if required.

      6. Reduce the flame to low heat, make 4 cavities in the tomatoes, crack one egg in each cavity, cover the pan with a lid, let the egg whites cook while the yolks are still soft and runny for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from fire and uncover.

      7. Garnish with crumbled feta and parsley. Sprinkle freshly ground pepper and salt on eggs. Serve immediately with pita bread or sourdough bread.



      COOK'S NOTES:

      • I used Himalayan salt as it contains more minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium than a normal table salt. You can use normal salt by all means if you cannot get hold of the pink salt.

      • I like my yolks runny and soft in the center, but if you like your eggs hard, leave for another 3-4 minutes on fire to cook well done.

      • You can also add sliced jalapeño peppers and sliced avocado on top to garnish and serve with bread of your choice.

      • I like adding sugar as it balances the tartness of tomatoes. You can omit if you don’t want.



      MANGO COCONUT CHIA SEEDS PARFAITS



        Sustaining this Omani heat by feeding our souls with this chilled breakfast on a hot summer morning, Mango and Coconut Chia Seed Parfaits. Made these for dessert last evening but saved a couple for the breakfast! Had it with granola on top this morning and it was just a perfect start of the day. Enjoy these summer beauties either at breakfast or as a dessert to end your meal...it’s that versatile. Replace the yogurt with your favourite alternative to turn this into a delicious vegan treat. What summer treats are you making with mango to start your day?

        SERVES: 6-8

        PREP TIME: It takes overnight or 4 hours for soaking chia seeds, 10 minutes to prepare mangoes

        ASSEMBLING TIME: 10 minutes



        INGREDIENTS


        For Coconut Chia Seeds Layer:

        • 400 ml coconut milk (full fat)

        • 4 tbsp mixed chia seeds (white and black)

        • 2tbsp agave syrup or maple syrup

        For Mango Layer:

        • 6-7 alphonso mangoes (medium to large), peeled and cut into cubes and keep 1 cup aside for topping

        • 1 1/2 cups of mango purée, made with the remaining mangoes

        For Yoghurt Layer:

        • 450g yoghurt

        • 2 tbsp caster sugar (optional)



        METHOD

        1. Soak chia seeds in coconut milk overnight or at least 4 hours until it’s swelled, slimy and thick. Add agave syrup, mix and keep aside.

        2. Peel mangoes, cut the cheeks of 4 firm mangoes and dice it into 1.5 cm cubes. Remove the pulp from rest of the the mangoes, blend them to a smooth puree. Keep aside to use later.

        3. In a bowl, take yoghurt and sugar and whisk together to make it smooth and creamy.

        4. To serve, arrange them in 250ml capacity glass goblets, drop few cubes of mangoes at the bottom of each glass, pour 3-4 tbsp of coconut chia mix, layer it with mango puree, then layer it with yogurt and finish with few more diced mangoes on top. Refrigerate to chill for 2 hours before serving.


        COOKS NOTES:

        • You can serve these for breakfast with granola on top. Replace the yoghurt with your favourite non-dairy yoghurt like coconut or almond to turn this into a delicious vegan treat.


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