5 ideas for the perfect Mother’s Day brunch

Banana-and-buttermilk flapjacks

Serves 4

EASY

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2–3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 350 g cake flour
• 2 free-range eggs
• 5 T butter, melted, plus extra for frying
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 cups buttermilk, plus extra for serving
• Fresh honeycomb, for serving, optional

Method:

1. Place the eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, mashed bananas and buttermilk in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Pour the wet mixture over the flour and mix well, taking care not to overmix.
3. Place a pan over a medium heat and add a little butter. Once the butter has melted, drop spoonsful of the flapjack mixture into the pan, cook until the surface bubbles, then turn and cook the other side. Serve hot with the honeycomb if you like, or yoghurt and fresh berries and maple syrup or honey.

Shakshuka always looks impressive, and this one has an extra flourish: fresh homemade labneh. (No labneh on the cards? The feta will do fine for creaminess.)

Baked shakshuka with feta and home-made labneh

Serves 6

EASY

Preparation: 30 minutes, plus overnight chilling time

Cooking: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• For the labneh:
• 2 cups full-cream plain yoghurt
• For the shakshuka:
• 3–4 T olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 bulb fennel, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 red peppers, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 t sweet paprika
• 2 t ground cumin
• crushed chillies, a pinch
• 2 x 400 g cans tomatoes
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8–12 free-range eggs
• 100–200 g feta, crumbled
• 3–4 T parsley, finely chopped
• pitas, warmed, for serving
• hot sauce, for serving (optional)

Method:

1. To make the labneh, line a large strainer or colander with clean muslin or a coffee filter. Place over a bowl. Pour in the yoghurt. Cover and chill overnight until thick.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Gently heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan. Add the onion and fennel and cook gently until starting to soften. Add the red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until very soft. If necessary, add a little more oil. Stir in the garlic and spices.
3. Crush the tomatoes and add with any juices. Stir in the tomato paste, stock and a little seasoning. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, or until thickened but still saucy.
4. Make 8–12 indentations in the sauce and carefully break in the eggs. Top with the feta and parsley. Moisten with a slick of olive oil. Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks are slightly runny.
5. Serve immediately, adding spoonsful of labneh at the table. Pass around the warm pitas and hot sauce.

These baked eggs look beautiful and are very adaptable. Simply add any veg you’ve got to hand.

Spring green skillet-baked eggs

Serves 4

EASY

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 baby marrows, sliced
• 1 T olive oil
• Sea salt, to taste
• 100 g frozen peas
• 50 g kale, shredded
• 220 g ricotta, torn
• 6 free-range eggs, beaten
• 1⁄4 cup cream
• Toast, for serving
• Spring onions, to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pan-fry the sliced baby marrows in olive oil and sea salt to taste in a cast-iron skillet.
2. Remove from the heat and add the frozen peas, shredded kale and torn ricotta. Beat the free-range eggs with cream, season and pour into the pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes until the eggs are set. Serve with toast, topped with sliced spring onions.
4. Cook's note: Serve this bake straight from the oven – it not only looks great on the table, but it’ll save on washing up, too.

While cheese-on-toast might not quite cut it for Mother’s Day brunch, the addition of a silky cheese sauce makes a rarebit feel that bit more special. You can leave out the leeks and corn if you don’t have them – this will still be good.

Welsh rarebit on toast with corn and leeks

Serves 2

EASY

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 100 g Woolworths Huguenot Cheddar, grated
• 1½ t butter
• 1 t Worcester sauce
• 1 t flour
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 t milk
• 4 baby leeks
• 1 T olive oil
• 3 cobs sweetcorn, cooked
• 2 slices kitke bread

Method:

1. Heat the cheese, ½ t butter, Worcester sauce, flour and seasoning in a saucepan.
2. Mix well, then add the milk. Stir to form a thick paste, then set aside to cool a little.
3. Chop the leeks into small pieces, then fry in the remaining butter and the olive oil until light brown.
4. Remove the corn kernels from the cobs and char in a hot pan.
5. To assemble, toast the bread. Spread the leeks on the bread and top with some charred corn. Finish with a spoonful of Welsh rarebit sauce and place under the grill until golden and bubbling.
6. Cook's note: Thick, hot cheese sauce poured liberally over toasted bread, then grilled. Say no more.

This might be the ultimate beans-on-toast: smoky, spicy and rich. Tweak the level of spice to taste and omit the bacon if you like.

Smoky maple-espresso baked beans

Serves 4

EASY

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• Oil, for frying
• 400 g pork rashers, sliced into thirds
• 4 leeks, washed and roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 t smoked paprika
• 1 t chilli flakes
• 1 T Woolworths Lazy Kettle hickory liquid smoke
• 2 shots espresso
• 1 T maple syrup
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 x 400 g can Italian whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 x 400 g cans butter beans, drained
• Salt, to taste
• Ciabatta, sliced and toasted, for serving

Method:

1. Heat a little oil in a saucepan over a medium to high heat. Fry the pork rashers until golden and the fat has rendered. Remove from the pan.
2. Add the leeks to the same pan and fry until golden. Add the garlic, paprika and chilli flakes and cook for a few seconds. Add the remaining ingredients, along with the pork rashers, and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.
3. Season with salt and serve with slices of toasted ciabatta.
4. Cook's note: All winter's comforting flavours - smoky, spicy and rich espresso - in the simplest and most filling of dishes.

SHOP MOTHER'S DAY TREATS & GIFTS