Bunch is one of the absolute best meals in existence. You don’t have to choose sweet or savory, carbs or protein, breakfast or lunch, mimosa or coffee. These are some of the toughest choices a diner faces. Brunch is the beautiful meal where you can just say “I want all of that” and it’s perfectly acceptable. So what’s my problem? Uhh… after getting out of bed, the next hardest thing is getting out of my PJs. Also I don’t always want to talk to people before I’ve been caffeinated and fed. Also sometimes I’m hungover. So yes, brunch is amazing but sometimes there are prohibiting factors. This post is all about overcoming them.
Making breakfast (brunch, really) at home shouldn’t require a crowd or take ten hours. You should be able to make something delicious and special with a few staples: eggs, bread, fruit, veggies, and cured meats (if you’re into that). If you eat at home during the week, you probably have most of this waiting to go bad in your fridge. I chose lettuce (which may surprise some of you!) because of my winter trip to Toyko and Thailand – breakfasts were far more savory (especially in Tokyo) and almost always included a light salad, even at 9AM. As a salad lover, I’ve bee happily incorporating leafy greens into my breakfasts since.
This meal came together in about 20 minutes – 5 or so to chop and mix the fruit, less than 10 minutes for the bacon, and 5 minutes to fry the egg, mix the salad, and throw it all on a plate. I’m big on multi-tasking; if you’re not, this may take a few extra minutes.
My favorite part of solo brunching at home is curling up on the couch with a mug of coffee and a magazine
Recipe Notes and Substitutions:
You can use any fruit you’d like! I had some beautiful berries – I diced the strawberries to be about the same size as the raspberries and added a few blackberries. I’ve also made this with just half a diced apple and it tastes like apple pie. In the summer I like to use stone fruits and brown sugar and cinnamon instead. Citrus can be segmented and plated. Bananas are great with a little cinammon (skip the sugar). Experiment with whatever is in your fridge – if you like it plain, it’ll probably be even better with a touch of sugar and vanilla.
If you’re not into dairy, skip the goat cheese/cream cheese/mascarpone. Maybe give your toast a rub of garlic and olive oil once it’s cooked.
If you have leftover proscuitto or salami, try giving it a quick fry to crisp it up before you cook the egg. Crispy proscuitto is my new favorite. Give it a try, or use a veg-friendly alternate if that’s your thing.
No leafy greens? Spinach works! Or just heat up the veggies you haven’t quite finished from the week – whatever helps empty the fridge.
ingredients
- 2 slices of bacon
- 1 slice of bread
- 1 TBSP goat cheese, mascarpone, or cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup fruit
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 handfuls of mixed greens
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
instructions
- First things first: get a small nonstick pan over medium heat and add the bacon to it (yes, to the cold pan! this helps the fat render as the pan heats and cooks the bacon beautifully).
- While the bacon cooks, chop your fruit if necessary and toss with the sugar and vanilla. Let it sit and absorb the vanilla flavors.
- Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain and get your bread toasting.
- Drop the stove to medium low and pour all the excess fat out of the pan leaving a thin film to keep the egg from sticking. Keep the pan off the heat while the bread toasts.
- While the bread toasts, drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over your greens. Toss, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Spread the toast with cheese, if using, and place the bacon on top of it. Plate the fruit and salad.
- Return the skillet to the heat and wait 30 seconds before cracking the egg into it. Season with salt and pepper and cook as desired. I like mine over medium and this usually takes about 3 minutes on my stove.
- Once your egg is cooked to your liking, transfer to the toast and dig in.
This looks delicious! I totally agree with you that brunch is the best of all possible worlds. Now I’m kind of wishing it was morning so I could make myself something like this to eat