”Brunch has a very flexible definition, but it’s that hearty meal when you’re having a lazy day,” muses Fadi Kattan, chef/co-founder of akub in London and author of Bethlehem. There’s an informality to it, too, he says, with less fanfare and stress than having people over for dinner. “Brunch can also be a more affordable way to socialise,” adds Natasha Sayliss, founder of Mae + Harvey in east London. “You can have a night out during the day!”
Food-wise, eggs are essential for Kattan and Feast’s Benjamina Ebuehi. “If there’s no egg action, something is missing,” says Ebuehi, who keeps things light by serving hers with cornbread. “That goes down really well, and it’s quick to come together: cornmeal, eggs, liquid of your choice [milk or buttermilk], salt, a bit of sugar, and brown butter to give an extra dimension.” Eat while it is warm, so it’s “soft and fluffy”, and top with the all-important fried eggs, bacon, perhaps, and a drizzle of hot honey. Sayliss, meanwhile, gets her weekend started with Turkish eggs. “Mix yoghurt and garlic, then spread it on a plate and top with fried eggs.” The real star, though, is the chilli butter: “Fry a load of chopped red chillies, add butter and, once that has melted, add honey and chilli flakes.” Drizzle that over, sprinkle with parsley, then just add toast.
Of course, brunch opens many possibilities beyond eggs. “There’s a lot you can do with a good, bready vessel,” notes Roberta Hall McCarron, chef-owner of Ardfern in Edinburgh. While crumpets and English muffins are worthy contenders, Hall McCarron leans towards potato flatbreads. She scoops out the middle of baked potatoes, passes the flesh through a sieve (“so you have dry mash”), mixes with flour, yeast and water, and leaves to prove for an hour. “Knock back the dough, divide into 90g portions, and shape into rounds; it will be wet, so you need semolina on your hands.” Get them in a hot pan and cook on each side (“about six minutes in total”), then turn your attention to the toppings. “Summer it up by adding tomatoes marinated in white balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt for 30 minutes.”
Brunch doesn’t necessarily mean one dish, though. “You can have courses,” says Ebuehi, something Kattan wholeheartedly subscribes to. Kicking off his checklist for the perfect brunch is ka’ek al-quds, the “oval-shaped bread from Jerusalem with sesame seeds on – it is fantastic warm”. Add “decadent hummus” (AKA topped with toasted pine nuts, chilli oil and whole chickpeas), eggs baked in tomato sauce studded with cumin and dill seeds, labneh with fresh za’atar and “some nice Palestinian olive oil”, plus piping hot falafel for good measure.
Kattan loads the table further with a plethora of pickles (cucumber, turnip, cauliflower, almonds). If time and energy levels allow, he’d then “get to the more serious things’’, which might be string beans or okra sauteed in olive oil and cooked with tomatoes, garlic and salt, koftas with tahini sauce, or a diced watermelon salad with toasted almonds, black olives, white cheese (think feta) and marjoram. And if there’s room for something sweet, it’s got to be sliced figs or strawberries, olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac. “That’s a great brunch which will last for hours,” Kattan adds. And who are we to disagree?
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