The new way to brunch - tips and tricks
and a recipe for Fluffy Za'atar and Labneh Buns
Hello, and welcome to Newsletter No 40 here on Substack! Thank you for stopping by. If you are already subscribed - THANK YOU! Seeing thousands of you read my newsletters each month means the world to me! And if you are not yet a subscriber, hit the link below if you are interested in recipes as well as tips and tricks to make the most of our increasingly eclectic pantries and a good dose of my at times random musings about all things food!
❤️ Also, did you know that if you hit the HEART at the top or bottom of this post, it makes it easier for people to find this newsletter? (And also puts huge smile on my face!)
I love breakfast. So much so that I often plan my breakfast before I have even started preparing dinner. So it should come as no surprise that I also love brunch. After all, brunch in some ways is nothing more than breakfast, but at a far more civilized time of day. Even in the deepest winter, by the time brunch o’clock rolls around, the sun will be up. Brunch also equals choice, meaning you don’t have to settle on eating just one thing. Nope, you can go right ahead and indulge in pastries, fruit salad, eggs etc. And to top it all off, it is perfectly acceptable for a brunch to wash down your food with some booze, be it a Mimosa (or two) or a Bloody Mary. In short, what’s not to love about brunch?!
That being said, when it comes to hosting your own brunches it is easy to get stuck in a rut and make the same dishes over and over again every single time. There is of course nothing wrong with making those kinds of crowd-pleasing dishes people always want the recipe for. In fact, you better include these in your brunch dish line-up if you don’t want to cause too much of a ruckus! But it’s good to change things up a bit every once in a while.
Taking inspiration from the brunches Kaja and I hosted when we ran our supper clubs, for this week’s post I thought I would share some ideas for some new things you might want to add to your brunch rotation, including these Za’atar and Labneh Buns pictured above (for the recipe see the end of this post).
First things first, whenever you are hosting a brunch, before you even start thinking about what delicious dishes to include in your line-up you do want to make sure you have covered the basics:
Make sure you have some hot and cold drink options at the ready - e.g. a large pot of filter coffee, maybe a few different types of tea to choose from, still or sparkling water and some juice.
You also want to make sure that you have plenty of delicious bread and pastries from your favourite bakery, different types of cheese and cold cuts, various types of jam, nut butters and chocolate spread etc.
With the basics covered, it’s time to get a little creative and level up your brunch game! So why not try one or several of the following ideas for your next brunch:
EGGS
There are so many delicious egg dishes beyond scrambled eggs, including dishes perfectly suitable for making for a crowd:
For our brunch supper clubs we made Shakshuka - when making this for a crowd simply prepare everything in one big pot and then divide between several pans when it comes to cooking the eggs. Here is a trusted recipe for Shakshuka from Ottolenghi.
This time of year when fresh herbs are plentiful and cheap is the perfect time to make Persian herb frittata Kuku Sabzi - and even better, you could easily make this for a crowd by cooking it in the oven on a sheet pan. Here is Samin Nosrat’s recipe in the NYT.
I also love Turkish eggs (Çilbir - i.e. poached eggs on a bed of garlicky yoghurt and topped with chili butter) but I rarely feel like poaching eggs, let alone for a crowd. My solution? Make Turkish eggs with either fried eggs or jammy 6.5-7 minute eggs. For a further slight twist on Turkish eggs I also like simply eating fried eggs on a bed of labneh drizzled in lots of za’atar oil (see photo above). See here for a recipe from Ozlem Warren for Turkish eggs.
PASTRIES
With bread and croissants etc. largely taken care of, I like to add at least one homemade fun pastry to the line-up of carbohydrates. And when it comes to brunch for me it is all about maximising the reward versus the effort required. So I want pastries that don’t require a lot of active work and can be largely prepped ahead of time but that still deliver on the flavour front. For example:
Bostock - I adore Bostocks. Not only are they delicious to eat but they are also infinitely adaptable to (i) your favourite kind of nut or seed, (ii) using any kind of jam or soft fruit as a filling underneath the frangipane and (iii) any kind of additional flavouring in the frangipane itself that you might want. E.g. you could make a hazelnut and cinnamon frangipane to top a layer of apple and raisin compote. Even better, you can prepare all the elements for Bostock (the sugar syrup, frangipane and any filling, plus slicing your brioche) a day in advance. The morning of your brunch and while the oven is pre-heating all you need to do is brush the brioche slices with the sugar syrup and top with the frangipane (after adding a layer of jam or fruit should you so wish) and the Bostock will happily bake in the oven while you go and take a shower or continue finalising everything else needed for your brunch. See here for my recipe for a Fig Leaf Bostock.
Sheetpan Almond Croissants - I don’t know who first thought of this but it was Sohla El Wally who introduced me to the idea of turning sheets of buttery puff pastry into giant almond croissants. Yes, puff pastry is not quite the same as the Danish dough used for almond croissants. But who cares about that when you are staring at a whole sheet pan worth of beautifully crackly puff pastry showered with lots of icing sugar and stuffed with an ooey gooey almond frangipane filling and you are simply trying to work out whether you want an edge piece or a piece from the centre? See here for Sohla’s recipe in the NYT.
Overnight scones - American bakery style scones, i.e. the large triangular ones with lots of add-ins, are always a crowd-pleaser. The genius I discovered via one of Claire Ptak’s recipes in her Violet Bakery book is that you can prepare the dough for her Prune, Oat and Spelt Scones the day before you want to bake them. So all you need to do the morning of your brunch is to cut the dough into little triangles and bake them. And while the combination of prunes, oats and spelt might sound very wholesome, they are super delicious and I have taken them to various brunches and have only ever received rave reviews. That being said, you could of course change up the add-ins to suit your tastes - I imagine fresh blueberries, dried apricots and stem ginger would be great. Or chocolate chips and salted peanuts, for example. Here is the recipe for Claire’s overnight scones.
If your sweet tooth is not as large as mine, you could use Solah’s idea for a giant almond croissant but make giant ham and cheese or cheese and kimchi croissants instead. Or you simply make a batch of my Za’atar and Labneh buns - which coincidentally make a great pairing with Shakshuka!
DIPS
I’m a big fan of dips, for any meal really, so for me no brunch is complete without 1-2 dips. Hummus and Baba Ghanoush are of course delicious, but there are so many other options for delicious dips:
Labneh - delicious as it is but equally great with a pool of za’atar oil or chili crisp in the centre.
Courgette “baba ghanoush” - a dish we have Ottolenghi to thank for (see recipe here), even if I skip the blue cheese and simply treat the courgettes like I would treat the aubergines when making baba ghanoush.
Turkish carrot salad - think of this as tzatziki for the cold season: grated carrots get cooked with some olive oil and garlic to soften them before folding them into thick greek yoghurt and seasoning with salt and pepper. See here for a recipe from Vidar Bergum.
Spicy Feta Dip with Charred and Pickled Peppers - this recipe from Molly Baz also sounds pretty phenomenal.
VEGGIES
I like doing a mix of platters with crudités - great for above mentioned dips - and some veggie dishes for brunch so it’s not all carbs and eggs. Be it something fresh like a watermelon, feta and coriander salad in the summer, or a large platter of rucola with quartered figs and torn mozzarella for example, or cooked vegetables like these ras el hanout roasted carrots with labneh and zhoug in the colder months.
FRUIT
While Brunch can often be about indulging in all your favourite breakfast dishes, all at the same time, if you ask me, every brunch spread should include a big bowl of fruit, be it a nice fruit salad or a bowl of poached fruit or homemade compote. Something to eat on its own or maybe paired with some Greek yoghurt and granola:
In deepest winter I love the simplicity, flavour and beauty of a simple Moroccan orange salad - which is nothing more than peeled and sliced oranges, sprinkled with some orange blossom water and some cinnamon (and maybe a few torn mint leaves if you are feeling fancy!);
During the summer I am a big fan of this mixed berry and fresh melon salad with Jasmine tea syrup I wrote about here a few months ago (see photo above);
When it comes to fruit compotes or cooked fruit, there are of course also lots of options: I love rose poached apricots or apricots roasted with anise seeds or Tonka bean (Vanilla bean would work equally well), pears poached in chamomile tea or hibiscus tea are also a great option, and so is a blueberry thyme compote or maybe a raspberry compote with some rose water. For fruit compotes I don’t rely on specific quantities but I typically start with around 5-10% of sugar (in terms of the weight of the fruit) and then adjust depending on how tart the fruit is and how sweet I want things. I might also add a splash or two of water to help things along while the fruit is cooking.
Just remember to prepare any fruit salad as close to your guests arriving as possible so the fruit hasn’t gone soggy.
Drinks
During the warmer months in addition to offering hot coffee you might also want to think about preparing a large pitcher of cold brew coffee. See here for a trusted Serious Eats recipe. And what brings cold brew coffee over the top if you ask me, is drinking it with Horchata - the cinnamon flavoured rice and/or almond milk popular in both Spain and Mexico. There are many recipes for Horchata but I love my version inspired by Sqirl in LA the best - it uses dates for a really mellow and almost caramel-like sweetness and toasted cinnamon bark for a really subtle smokey flavour.
Once the coffee situation is sorted, you might want to think about what to make for the non-coffee drinkers that is a bit special and unusual. And for me, in autumn and winter, that is a big pot of beautifully rose coloured Kashmiri Chai (which, come to think of it would no doubt be delicious poured over ice as well). See here for a recipe from Bon Appetit.
And instead of just buying a bunch of sugar fruit juices you could also think about making some Agua Frescas - I love Hibiscus Agua Fresca and Tamarind Agua Fresca. See my post from a couple of weeks ago for a few recipes for different kinds of Hibiscus Agua Fresca.
I’m also a huge fan of these little overpriced turmeric shots you can get at most juice bars. As it turns out, these are very easy to make yourself. Kaja and I made some for our brunch supperclubs and they went down a treat so I’m now keeping this idea at the back of my mind for my next brunch. See here for a recipe (and feel free to adjust using different citrus fruits - I am quite partial to lime - and/or adding some agave or similar to sweeten these shots).
I hope this has given you some new ideas for your next brunch! And if you want to have a go at making the Labneh and Za’atar Buns pictured at the top of the post, the recipe is below.
What is your favourite thing to eat or make at brunch that is a bit unusual? Let me know in the comments below!
Za’atar and Labneh Buns
Makes 6 buns
Ingredients
250g all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp dried active yeast
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 egg
125ml warm milk
35g melted butter
150g Labneh
If using unsalted labneh, a pinch of salt
2 tsp cornflour
6 tbsp Za’atar
6 tbsp olive oil
Eggwash: 1 egg whisked with a pinch of salt
To finish: olive oil
Directions
To make the dough, whisk together the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg, warm milk and melted butter. Knead for 5-10 minutes on medium speed or until the dough passes the window pane test (i.e. the dough can be stretched so thin without ripping as to be almost translucent).
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise somewhere warm for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. If you want to make these buns for breakfast or brunch, you can make the dough the night before and place it in the fridge (in a covered container) overnight for the first proofing.
Punch the dough down. Next, roll the dough out into a 25x35cm rectangle on a floured surface, with one of the shorter sides of the dough facing you.
If not already salted, season the labneh with a generous pinch of salt and stir in the cornflour. Spread the labneh evenly over the dough. Whisk together the za’atar with the olive oil and spread over the labneh.
Carefully fold the top ⅓ of the dough towards you. Then fold the bottom third (so the short side closest to you) on top of that. You should end up with a rectangle that is approximately 25cm x 12cm.
Using a sharp knife, pastry cutter or bench knife, cut the dough horizontally into 6 strips approximately 2cm in width and 25cm in length.
To shape the buns take one strip of dough and, holding one end of a strip of dough between the top of your thumb and your index finger, wrap the dough a few times around the index finger and middle finger of the same hand, stretching the dough slightly as you go. When the remaining strip of dough is ca. 10 cm long carefully wrap the strip of dough around the middle of the loops of dough now resting on your index finger and middle finger (essentially the same way you might start a ball of yarn), tucking both ends of the strip of dough underneath the bun. Place the bun on a sheetpan lined with parchment paper and repeat this step with the remaining strips of dough.
Cover and set aside to proof for a further 30-45 minutes or until visibly puffy and a small dent created with a finger leaves a visible mark that only disappears very slowly.
While the buns are proving, pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Brush the buns with egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes.
While the buns are still hot, brush with olive oil for a nice sheen.
Yumm these Zaatar and Labneh Buns sound amazing! Will make ASAP.
10/10 across the board 👏🏻