Making a meal requires planning, thinking things through and multitasking. It also requires making lots of different elements that all come together at the end. It requires considering what people need and want, and trying to make everyone happy. It’s about sustenance, yes, but it’s also about nourishment and love. If that sounds like someone you know – hi, Mum! – then plan a meal, make that meal and tell her you think she’s amazing.
Poached eggs with avocado yoghurt and pilpelchuma (pictured top)
This dish is inspired by çilbir, or Turkish eggs, in which poached eggs are paired with a sour, lemony yoghurt. Serve with good bread or flatbread. Pilpelchuma is a chilli paste of Libyan Jewish origin, and these quantities will make more than you need here. Keep the excess in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week – it’s great with seafood or any roast vegetables.
Prep 5 min
Cook 55 min
Serves 2
For the pilpelchuma
3 small garlic bulbs
105ml olive oil
2 dried chipotle chillies, stems and seeds removed
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp sesame seeds
½ tsp aleppo chilli
1 tsp paprika
Flaked sea salt and black pepper
For the avocado yoghurt
2 ripe avocados
75g thick-set Greek yoghurt (5% fat or above), or store-bought labneh
1 lime, finely grated to get ½ tsp zest, then juiced, to get 1 tbsp
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
1½ tbsp Thai basil leaves, finely chopped
For the eggs
4 large eggs
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
2 slices sourdough bread, toasted, to serve (optional)
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, then start on the pilpelchuma. Trim the tops off the garlic bulbs to reveal the cloves inside. Place each head on a small piece of tinfoil and season each one with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of oil. Tightly wrap them individually, then roast for 35 minutes, until nicely softened and golden. Remove, set aside to cool completely, then squeeze the heads to release the roast cloves from the papery skins (discard the skins).
Meanwhile, put the chillies in a heatproof bowl, pour over enough boiling water to submerge them, then weigh down the chillies with a small saucer and leave to rehydrate for 20 minutes.
For the yoghurt, cut the avocados in half, then remove and discard the stones and skins. Put the flesh in a food processor with the yoghurt, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and the lime zest and juice, and blitz smooth. Add a tablespoon each of the herbs and pulse for 30 seconds, until the mix is flecked with green, then set aside. (If you like, make this up to a day ahead; cover and refrigerate, but bring it back up to room temperature before serving.)
Put the cumin, caraway and sesame seeds in a small frying pan over a medium heat and toast for three minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a mortar and crush coarsely.
Drain and roughly chop the soaked chillies, then put them in the mortar with the roast garlic flesh, aleppo chilli, paprika and a quarter-teaspoon of flaked salt. Work the mix into a loose paste, adding the remaining 60ml of oil bit by bit – the end result will be split and textured – then scrape into a bowl and keep at room temperature.
Half-fill a large saucepan with water, add half a tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the vinegar and swirl the water vigorously to create a mini-whirlpool. Crack the eggs one at a time into the water, gently swirling the water again between each addition, and cook for three minutes for poached eggs with runny yolks (cook them for longer if you prefer harder yolks). Lift out the eggs one by one with a slotted spoon and drain on a sheet of absorbent kitchen paper.
Divide the avocado yoghurt between two medium lipped plates, then make a well in the centre of each portion. Put two eggs on top of each and sprinkle with a good grind of pepper and flaked salt. Spoon the pilpelchuma liberally over the eggs (keep the excess for another use)scatter over the remaining tablespoon of coriander and half-tablespoon of basil, and serve with the toast, if using, on the side.
Date and oat soda bread with salted date butter
There are lots of great things to say about soda bread, one of which is that it comes together in less than an hour, so it’s doable on Mother’s Day morning, ready for brunch.
Prep 5 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
140g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
140g wholemeal flour
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
60g jumbo oats
50g Medjool dates, pitted and cut into ½cm dice
150ml buttermilk
2 tbsp date syrup
120g salted butter, cut into 1cm cubes, then softened at room temperature
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7, and dust a 30cm x 20cm baking tray liberally with bread flour.
Put the two flours, salt, bicarb, baking powder and oats in a large bowl and mix to combine. In a small bowl, mix the dates, 125ml buttermilk, 150ml cold tap water and a tablespoon of date syrup. Make a well in the dry mix, then pour in the wet ingredients and gently knead with your hands until everything is fully integrated and the dough just comes together – do not overwork it.
Form the dough into a round loaf shape that’s roughly 15cm in diameter and lift it gently on to the floured baking tray. Using a sharp knife, score a 5cm-deep cross into the top of the dough (don’t worry if it’s not perfect), then bake for 35 minutes, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Lift the loaf on to a rack and leave to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the date butter. In a food processor, blitz the butter for 60 seconds, until pale and fluffy, add the remaining 25ml buttermilk and blitz for another 10 seconds, just to incorporate (don’t blitz it for much longer or it will split).
Transfer to a bowl, add the remaining tablespoon of date syrup and gently swirl it through the butter mix; you don’t want to incorporate it fully.
Serve the bread warm or toasted with some of the date butter smeared on top.
Strawberry, hibiscus and black pepper spritz
Kick off Mother’s Day brunch with this refreshing and easy gin spritz. To make it alcohol-free, swap the gin for more sparkling water. If you like, make the syrup ahead of time and refrigerate – it will keep for up to two weeks.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Makes 1.2 litres, to serve 4
For the strawberry syrup
400g frozen strawberries
200g demerara sugar
½ vanilla pod, split open and seeds removed, or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
10g dried hibiscus flowers
1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely cracked in a mortar
⅛ tsp flaked sea salt
For the spritz
200ml London dry gin
200ml lime juice (from 9-10 limes)
400ml strawberry syrup (see above and method)
400ml sparkling water
1-2 limes, cut into 5mm slices, pips removed
3-4 basil sprigs
First, make the syrup. Put the strawberries, sugar, vanilla pod and seeds, hibiscus, cracked pepper and salt in a medium saucepan and add 400ml cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium-high and cook for 20 minutes, until the fruit has broken down and the liquid is the consistency of a thin syrup. It will thicken as it cools.
Pass the strawberry mix through a fine sieve set over a medium bowl, and use the back of a spoon to press down on the solids and extract as much liquid as possible. The softened fruit will pass through the sieve as a puree; discard the remaining solids left in the sieve. You should end up with about 400ml thick syrup. Pour this into a sterilised jar, leave to cool, seal and refrigerate until needed.
To make the spritz, quarter-fill a two-litre pitcher with ice. Add the gin, lime juice, strawberry syrup, sparkling water, lime slices and basil, and stir well, smashing the basil leaves as you do so, to release their flavour. Pour into tall glasses and serve ice cold.
