I love the combination here of sweet and savoury, and it makes for an extremely delicious breakfast treat.

Makes 16 scones
1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil
250g of smoked streaky bacon, cut into 2cm pieces
450g flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
A generous pinch of salt
225g cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes
180ml maple syrup, plus a little extra for glazing
180ml of buttermilk
1 egg
Sea salt to sprinkle

Place a large frying pan over a medium high heat and fry the bacon in a little oil until crisp and sizzling. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside to cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a fork or pastry cutter press the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a mixture with resembles rough breadcrumbs. Don’t worry too much if there are still some rogue lumps of butter.

Combine the maple syrup and buttermilk in a pyrex jug and pour this into the butter mixture along with the cool bacon.

Using a fork bring the dough together making sure not to over mix it.

When the dough has come together, turn it out on to a clean work surface sprinkled with flour.

Roll the dough out to about 6cm in thickness and cut out 5cm diameter circles. You may have to roll the dough out again to use it all up.

Place the scones on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and then place in the fridge to rest for about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Whisk the egg in a bowl and set aside.

Before the scones go into the oven, brush a little beaten egg and sprinkle a little sea salt on each one, and then bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the scones from the oven and brush over a little maple syrup on each one. Place back in the oven for another 3 minutes and then remove to a wire cooling wrack.

Serve the scones straight away or parcel up in paper bags for a savoury breakfast snack!

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You can think of this as a risotto for breakfast, which sounds strange, or rice pudding for breakfast – less weird and only a little naughty.  Or you can think of it as rice porridge for breakfast, for what is risotto anyway but rice porridge? This procedure follows the classic risotto method of absorbing liquid into rice in stages, though I would be inclined to let the rice cook a bit more than for a savoury risotto. The recipe calls for sweet wine. This doesn’t mean you have to crack open your precious expensive dessert wines. A slightly sweet Riesling or Muscat is what’s needed, though you might get away with that Liebfraumilch you’ve got hidden away for visiting aunties.

This recipe comes from Dennis Cotter’s “For The Love Of Food”.

Serves 4

For the spiced mango
100g/3½oz caster sugar
1 star anise, coarsely ground
4 cloves
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 large ripe mango

For the vanilla and coconut risotto
400ml/14fl oz milk
1 x 400ml/14fl oz tin of coconut milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
15g/½oz butter
200g/7oz Carnaroli or Arborio rice
4 tbsp sweet white wine
finely grated zest of 1 orange
finely grated zest of 1 lime

To serve
2 tbsp shelled pistachio
nuts, coarsely chopped
nutmeg, for grating

First make the spiced syrup for the mango: put the sugar, star anise, cloves and ginger in a small saucepan with 5 tablespoons of water and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to cool and infuse. Pass the syrup through a fine sieve. Peel the mango and slice the flesh from the stone.

Put half of it in a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of the spice syrup and blend to a purée. Add a little water, if necessary, to get a pouring consistency. Check for flavour and sweetness, and add a little more syrup to taste if it needs it.

Slice the remaining mango into matchsticks and put them in a bowl with a tablespoon of the mango sauce.

To make the risotto: put the milk, coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to at a simmer. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the pulp into the milk. Heat the butter in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat, add the rice and toast it, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer until it has been absorbed. Add a ladle or 2 of the hot milk mixture.  Stirring often, let this simmer until it has been absorbed, then add more of it.

Continue in this way for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and you have a nice porridgey texture. Stir in the citrus zest.

Serve the risotto in shallow bowls. Pour over a little mango sauce and place some of the sliced mango on top. Scatter over the pistachios, grate over a little nutmeg and serve.

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Right just to try and attempt to make this American classic somewhat healthier I am using oat flour! It is so simple to make. Pile a portion of rolled oats into a food processor and whizz it until it becomes fine. The flour gives a mellow sweet taste to the food it is used in and is a great way to add extra fibre to recipes. If you don’t have any oats on hand, substitute with plain flour. This mix also works great for use on waffle irons.

Makes approximately 8–10 pancakes
100ml/4fl oz milk
120g/4oz oat flour
2 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon of salt
1⁄2 teaspoon of cinnamon
100g of blueberries

Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

Measure the milk in a jug and add the egg yolks. Whisk lightly to combine.

Add to the dry ingredients and mix until blended.

In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Fold gently into the batter until combined.

To cook simply add a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture to a warm pan brushed with a little melted butter.

Plop in a few blueberries on the uncooked side and press them in gently, allow to cook until little bubbles start to appear and the edges become a little dry and then turn over to cook for about a minute until golden brown.

Serve with maple syrup, a dusting of icing sugar, bacon or whatever takes your fancy!

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The perfect scrambled eggs are most definitely down to personal taste, for me they have to be creamy so that they slide smoothly off the back of a wooden spoon. The eggs will continue to cook after you remove them from the heat so I think the key is to err on the side of them being underdone rather than ending up with chunky rubbery scrambled eggs.

Serves 1
2 large free range eggs
Sea salt and ground black pepper
2 slices of ciabatta toast to serve
2 tablespoons of chilli jam

In a small non stick saucepan, whisk the eggs until they are slightly frothy.

Place the pan over a low heat and allow them to warm through. With a wooden spoon keep the mix on the move, making sure not to let it catch on the sides too much.

Cook until you have creamy scrambled eggs.

Serve the eggs on toasted ciabatta with a good dollop of chilli jam and season with a little sea salt and ground black pepper.

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If you wanted to serve this chorizo and potato hash as a little tapas style dish, simply leave out the egg. This recipe would also make a hearty breakfast!

Serves 4
6 medium sized potatoes
150g of chorizo sausage, cut into bitesize chunks
1 onion, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt and ground black pepper
4 eggs

Place the potatoes into a pot of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and place in a bowl of cold water until cool, drain again, slice into chunks and set aside.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat and add in the chorizo, frying until sizzling and bright red. The chorizo should render out a rich red oil which you can fry the potatoes and onions in.

Remove the chorizo from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Fry the onion in the pan in the chorizo oil for 3-4 minutes until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside with the chorizo.

Add in the potatoes and fry for 5-6 minutes or until crisp and golden. You may need to add a drop of oil into the pan if you don’t have enough.

Add the onions and chorizo back into the pan, add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Remove the hash from the pan and place in a serving plate.

Add another drop of oil to the pan and fry the eggs until the white has set but the yolk is still soft and runny.

Serve the eggs on top of the hash and dig in!

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I eat porridge for breakfast most mornings, normally with a bit of honey and cinnamon, but eating the same thing everyday can become extremely boring. This recipe is my solution to jazzing up regular old porridge, it’s really filling and super healthy! In the winter months when fresh berries aren’t in season, I keep my freezer stocked up with frozen ones which are great to have at hand.

Makes 1 serving
35g of jumbo oats
200ml of water
1 banana
1 teaspoon of honey
A small handful of blueberries

Place the oats and water in a small pot and place over a medium heat.  Allow the oats to swell and cook slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they become nice and creamy. While the porridge is cooking, using the back of a fork, mash together the blueberries and banana until you get a nice smooth paste. Pour the cooked porridge into a bowl, top with the blueberry and banana mix and stir through with a little bit of honey.

Serve straight away.

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Recipe from “Swedish Homecooking” by Catarina Lundgren Astrom and Peter Astrom.

I’m told this is a traditional Swedish recipe from one of the largest islands off the coast of Sweden. It’s an extremely distinctive dessert, full of flavour which is definitely worth a try.

Serves 2
60g of Japanese rice
240ml of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
480ml of whole milk
120ml of cream
2 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of saffron
4 eggs
50g blanched almonds

Boil the rice with the water and salt in a covered saucepan until the water is absorbed.

Add the milk and cream and let the rice mixture simmer over a low heat until soft, about 30-40 minutes.  Stir every now and then so it doesn’t catch at the bottom.  You may need to add a little extra milk if needed.

Preheat the oven to 220oC.

Let the mixture cool a little.  Stir in the sugar and the saffron.  Add the eggs to the rice, one at a time.  Then add the almonds.  Pour the rice mixture into a buttered oven-proof dish.

Bake on the lowest rack of the oven for approx. 30 minutes.  Serve the saffron pancake lightly cooled, with whipped cream and blackberry jam.

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Home fries can easily be adapted to whatever you may have in your fridge, add some bacon pieces, some finely chopped red pepper, or even some mushrooms. I generally boil the potatoes ahead of time the night before, as the whole process can seem a little more work for a breakfast meal when done all at once.

Serves 2 people
3 large potatoes
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 eggs

Chop the potatoes in half and place in a large pot with a lid.  Cover the potatoes in water and bring to the boil over a high heat.

When the potatoes come to the boil lower the heat so the water comes to a steady simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potato is nice and tender when poked with a fork.  Drain the potatoes and carefully chop into bitesize chunks.

Prepare the onion and gently fry in a large frying pan with a tablespoon of oil over a medium heat for about 2 minutes or until the onion softens and begins to take colour.

Add the potato pieces and fry on all sides for about 6-8 minutes or until the pieces are all nicely browned.

Place the two eggs into a small pot and cover with water and bring to the boil.  When the water begins to boil, set a timer for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes drain the eggs under cold water and serve alongside a generous portion of home fries.

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