English Breakfast – OVO VEGETARIAN STYLE

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON – APRIL 2018
#87TH BLOGGING MARATHON
THEME: EXPLORE THE FLAVORS – INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST
DAY 5

“Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper”

As I mentioned in my first post on the breakfast series, breakfast is the important meal of the day. Bearing that in mind, the English Breakfast totally fits the bill of being a hearty and a filling meal. The traditional English breakfast includes bacon, sausages, eggs, beans, toast or fried bread, hash browns or chips (fries), grilled mushrooms and tomatoes along with some tea and fresh juice.

Whenever hubby and I go to my dad’s home in London, we usually land up having the full works as my brother would say! Hubby and my brother would go and shop for all the ingredients and then the kitchen comes alive with everyones’ preferences. We usually make everything from bacon to grilled tomatoes. Sometimes I think my cousins probably get a whiff of what’s cooking all the way to their homes and join us. If its not a full English Breakfast on a Sunday then its gathia jalebi.Hubby obviously got a huge surprise when I served this as brunch last Sunday. For a minute he thought he was in London! I enjoy the vegetarian version of the English Breakfast. Yes, considering that there are so many Indians in the UK, vegetarian English Breakfast has to be on the menu in some of the brunch places. This breakfast is so filling that you’d probably wouldn’t be hungry till dinner time.When I young, at first I did not understand the difference between English Breakfast and Continental Breakfast. So imaging when you think you’re ordering eggs, bread, beans etc etc and you only get a croissant or a pastry with coffee or tea! Its much after I understood the difference. Back then hadn’t even heard of an American breakfast. When we were young my granny would not allow eggs into the house so forget about getting any meat! However, my cousin loved bacon and sausages. When he moved to his own place, that’s when I ever had an English breakfast, mine being without the meat.Before I get lost and ramble on, lets get to the English Breakfast which is so famous in ENGLAND. Quoting Country Life magazine” The idea of the English Breakfast as a national dish goes right back to the 13th Century and the country houses of the gentry. In the old Anglo – Saxon tradition of hospitality, households would provide hearty breakfasts for visiting friends, neighbors and relatives”.

My version is a ovo vegetarian one…meaning no meat but has eggs. I decided to make roasted potatoes instead of chips (in England chips is what the Americans call fries) or hash browns.

ENGLISH BREAKFAST -OVO VEGETARIAN STYLE 
Serves 2

Ingredients for baked beans:
1 cup tinned baked beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp oil/butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or any herb of your choice

Ingredients for roasted potatoes:
2-3 large potatoes
¼ – ⅓ cup olive oil or any vegetable oil
1 tsp rosemary
1-1½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper powder

Other ingredients:
2-4 eggs
4-6 bread slices
2 large tomatoes
6-8 large mushrooms
a few avocado slices

2 tbsp butter for cooking

For serving:
some butter, jam, tomato ketchup, salt and pepper

Preparation of the roasted potatoes:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks.
2. Heat enough water in a pan.
3. When it is boiling add ½ tsp salt from the measured salt.
4. Add the cubed potatoes and let them cook just till they are little raw. Don’t over cook them.
5. Drain out the water. Let the potatoes cool down a bit.
6. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
7. Add oil, herbs and salt. Mix well till the potatoes are coated with the oil.
8. Spread the potato cubes on a baking tray.
9. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning them in between, till they turn golden brown.