Tag: Brunch

Sausage Egg & Cheese American Pancake Stack

Sausage, Egg And Cheese Pancake Stack

bakesbymegukLeave a comment

This is a dirty but delicious breakfast/brunch recipe – absolutely nothing refined about it. That makes it another great option for a hangover breakfast, like my best ever breakfast muffin recipe. In fact, the two recipes are pretty similar but this swaps the muffin for American pancakes, and doubles up on patty count. It’s cheesy, salty, carby, and super tasty owing to seasoning of that sausage patty. I like to use American cheese for this as, for some reason, I think it’s delicious but feel free to swap it for something a little higher quality. I just love the creamy texture of American cheese. The beauty of this recipe is you can pretty much add whatever you’d normally have in a breakfast sandwich or whatever you’ve got in your fridge – bacon, hash browns, avocado – the list is endless! Let me know in the comments what combos you try. I’m always looking for new variations!

Sausage, Egg And Cheese Pancake Stack

Serves 2 | 40 mins prep + cooking

Ingredients

2/3 batch BBC Good Food American pancake recipe (or equivalent amount of your fave recipe)

3x breakfast patty ingredients from my breakfast muffin recipe

4 slices American cheese (or cheese of your choice)

2 eggs

Maple syrup to serve

Method:

  1. Make the pancake batter. Heat a small amount of butter and oil in a pan over medium heat – you want just enough to cover the bottom of the pan but very little excess.
  2. Once hot, add a large spoonful of your pancake mix to the pan aiming for ~10cm diameter. Cook on one side until bubbles start to form in the mix and it’s started to set on top, it should also be golden brown on the bottom. The cooking time is really dependent on your pan and hob. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. Cover in foil & keep in the over at a low temperature to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, re-oiling the pan as needed.
  3. Next, combine all the sausage patty ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Form the mix into 4 thin patties, slightly larger in diameter than the pancakes as this will shrink when cooked.
  4. Coat the bottom of a skillet or frying pan with vegetable oil and heat over high heat. Once hot, place the patty into the pan and cook for 1-2 mins until the bottom is browned & caramelised – check after 1 min as this will burn quickly if left unattended. Flip the patty and leave for 30-60seconds, then add the cheese on top. Put a lid or plate over the frying pan and leave for another 30-60 seconds until cooked through (no pink left) and the cheese is melty. Cooking time will depend on the patty thickness, the pan and hob. Set aside & cover with foil.
  5. Crack the eggs into the sausage pan still over high heat and cook to your liking. I like mine over easy but still runny.
  6. To serve, place 1 pancake on a plate followed by a sausage patty, the egg, another pancake, another sausage patty and then a final pancake on top. Drizzle with maple syrup and enjoy!
Pear, thyme caramel and whipped cream pancakes (where the pancakes are)

Where The Pancakes Are – Southwark, SE1

bakesbymegukLeave a comment

We visited this pancake house as part of my best foodie friend Ros’s birthday celebrations. You should all be very familiar with her by now so you’ll understand why this is a perfect celebration for Ros. Made even better by the fact that it was preceded by puppy yoga. So our Saturday went from being swarmed by tiny puppies to pancakes – I can confirm there is no better way to spend a Saturday. Where the pancakes are is in Southwark. The restaurant has loads of outdoor seating making it a great summer brunch spot, and the indoor area also feels very light and airy.

Before the food, I ordered a Spanish latte which is quickly becoming my favourite way to have coffee – a latte but sweetened with condensed milk (I would happily drink a tin of condensed milk). As usual, Ros & I couldn’t possibly just have 1 dish each – there was so much good stuff on the menu and we wanted to to try as much as possible. So we went for 2 dishes and shared – one sweet and one savoury.

First up savoury. We got the pulled beef pastrami – this dish consisted of 2 fluffy American pancakes, pulled beef, cheddar, sauerkraut, 1000 island sauce, kale slaw and pickles. This was absolutely insane, I’ve never had pancakes like this. Firstly, the pancakes themselves were incredible – so light and fluffy. The pancakes were the perfect vessel for the toppings – a little lighter than bread, but with more richness. Secondly, all the toppings were absolutely perfect – salty pastrami, rich cheddar, creamy sauce cut through by the pickles and sauerkraut. I never would’ve expected a pancake restaurant to make such amazing and tender pastrami – my only criticism would be that I wanted more pastrami! Ros & I are both savoury lovers, so we absolutely demolished this dish.

Pastrami cheddar and sauerkraut pancakes (where the pancakes are)

Next up for our sweet dish we got 2 American pancakes topped with poached pears, thyme caramel and whipped cream. I think this may have been taken off the menu as I can’t see it on their site which is such a shame because this dish was fantastic! It used the same pancakes as the pastrami one – so very light and fluffy American pancakes. As I said, Ros & I are definitely more savoury than sweet people but both absolutely loved this dish. It wasn’t too sweet at all, the caramel was thick and almost bitter rather than being overly sweet. Thee thyme added a herbal note to the dish. The sweet sharp pears worked perfectly and stopped this dish feeling too rich and sweet. All of that topped with some super light, fluffy whipped cream and toasted almonds – the perfect bite. This one we didn’t quite finish, but that had nothing to do with the dish and more to do with the fact that we were so full from the first dish.

Pear, thyme caramel and whipped cream pancakes (where the pancakes are)

Ros & I were both so impressed with everything we ate. The pancakes were perfect, but also so were the toppings. The flavours & textures were really well balanced and thought out. I’d love to go back and try more of the menu, including the dutch baby pancakes! I really recommend this place as a weekend brunch spot, there’s such a huge variety on the menu for a place that just serves pancakes. Let me know in the comments what you think if you go!

My Best Ever Breakfast Muffins: Sausage, Bacon, Egg & Cheese Muffins

bakesbymeguk1 Comment

This is the ultimate hangover breakfast. Obviously there are some hangovers where a McDonalds muffin is the only answer, but for those ones where you feel able to get in the kitchen – this is the cure. To be honest this is amazing even if you’re not hungover. Let’s rephrase that first sentence to the ultimate breakfast – big claim but I can back it up. We have a really flavoursome, seasoned sausage patty fried until caramelised with plastic cheese, crispy bacon, fried egg, ketchup (or your sauce of choice, but clearly ketchup is the right one) inside a toasty English muffin. You cannot go wrong! Lots of this muffin is open to editing:

  • Cheese: I love the flavour & melty texture of plastic cheese in a burger or breakfast muffin, bt if you’re not on board switch it for something classier
  • Bacon: smoked, unsmoked, streaky, back – the world’s your oyster
  • Egg: Fry it however you list – sunny side up, over easy (I don’t know what these words mean), runny yolk, hard yolk. I like my eggs flipped with a mostly hard yolk, which may get some hate but eating a sandwich with a runny yolk is just impractical
  • Sauce: Ketchup, brown same, Siracha etc. etc.

Please let me know any different variations you try and how they are!

Sausage, Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Muffins

Serves 1 | 20 mins cook & prep

Ingredients

Breakfast Sausage Patty:

2 pork sausages (or ~115g sausage meat)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 sage leaves, finely diced (or switch for 1tsp dried sage)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp soft brown sugar

Large pinch nutmeg

Chilli flakes to taste

Salt &. pepper

Muffins:

2 rashers bacon (streaky or not, smoked or unsmoked – personal preference)

1 egg

1 slice American cheese

English muffin

Ketchup (or sauce of your choice)

Method

  1. Remove the sausages from their casing (skip this if using sausage meat) and combine all the sausage ingredients. Taste for seasoning by frying up a small portion of the meat and adjusting as needed
  2. Cook your bacon – I prefer to do this under a high grill until quite crispy.
  3. Meanwhile, split and toast the english muffin, put this on a plate and spread your choice of sauce on both sides. Set aside ready to assemble.
  4. In a frying pan or skillet heat up enough oil to coat the bottom on medium high heat. While this is heating up, using your hands roll the sausage meat into a ball and press into a thin, even patty in your hands. The patty should be about 1cm thick. It’ll end up being much bigger than the muffin, this is okay as it will shrink when cooked.
  5. Place the patty into the pan and cook for 1-2 mins until the bottom is browned & caramelised. Flip the patty and leave for 30-60seconds, then add the cheese on top. Put a lid or plate over the frying pan and leave for another 30-60 seconds until cooked through (no pink left) and the cheese is melty. Cooking time will depend on the patty thickness, the pan and hob. Place this on the bottom half of the muffin.
  6. If needed, add more oil to the frying pan and crack in an egg. Cook this to your liking (I like mine flipped with the yolk mostly cooked through). Once cooked, add the egg on top of the sausage.
  7. Add the bacon on top, then the other half of the muffin and enjoy!

Turkish Eggs With Spicy Sausage

bakesbymeguk1 Comment

Have you been searching for a breakfast that takes less than 30 mins but will have anyone who eats it thinking you’re a professional chef who got up at 5am to cook their breakfast? Well, I have some great news for you – I’ve created this recipe for the non-morning people who want sleep AND a tasty breakfast.

The best thing about this recipe is that the yoghurt is white so its hides how badly done my poached eggs are… Not really, the best part is how unbelievably TASTY this thing is. Turkish eggs have been a firm brunch fave of mine since I had them in a deli once when I was 17 but I haven’t found them in many restaurants since. We have creamy garlicky yoghurt, sweet & spicy sausage, spicy oil and runny eggs, all scooped up with some good quality bread. Can it get any better than that at breakfast time?!

Turkish Eggs With Spicy Sausage

Serves 2 | 30 mins prep + cooking

Ingredients

Sausage Mix:

4 pork sausages, casings removed OR ~250g sausage meat

1tsp smoked paprika

1/2tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like spicy, less if you don’t)

1/4tsp cinnamon

1 large clove garlic, minced

2tsp honey

Salt, to taste

Turkish Eggs:

250g full fat Greek yoghurt

1 large clove garlic, minced

30g butter

1-2tbsp olive oil

1/4-1/2 tsp chilli flakes

4 eggs

A few sprigs of parsley to garnish

Good bread to serve, e.g. focaccia, sourdough

Method

  1. Add all ingredients for the sausage into a bowl and mix with your hands until all the spices are fully incorporated. Taste for seasoning by frying up a small amount of the mix, adjust as needed.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add gold ball sizes of sausage meat, flattened (this doesn’t need to be neat as you’ll chop them up later), into the pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan, do in batches if necessary. Cook for 2-3 mis on each side until cooked through, cooking time will depend on you pan, hob and thickness of the patties (test a patty by cutting into it and checking for any pink). Set the sausage aside and chop roughly into chunks.
  3. To the sausage pan, add the butter and cook on medium heat until the foaming subsides. At this point, remove the pan from the heat and stir in your chilli flakes. It should froth slightly.
  4. Heat some water in a wide deep pan over medium heat.
  5. In a heatproof bowl, combine the yoghurt, garlic and salt to taste. Warm this mix in the hot water to body temperature.
  6. Next step is to poach your eggs (see note)
  7. To assemble, spoon the yoghurt into a wide bowl. Place 2 eggs on top and arrange the sausage around the eggs. Spoon over some of the chilli/oil/butter mix. Serve with some chopped parsley and good bread.

Note: I am by no stretch of the imagination an eggs-pert at this so please use whatever method you prefer. But if you want to try method, here it is:

  1. Add 1-2tsp of white wine vinegar to the wide pan of water. Heat the water to 180 degrees C.
  2. Crack your fridge cold eggs into a small bowl or ramekin.When the water is to temperature, scrape away any bubbles that form in the pan. slightly submerge the bowl so some water from the pan enters, the tip the egg out.
  3. Scoop around and over the egg to try and form its into a ball
  4. Cook for 2-4 mins, until to your desired runnniness.