By Christine Salins.
Valentine’s Day next Sunday calls for a romantic breakfast in bed, on the deck, or in the garden with your beloved. Since it’s no longer possible to jet off to a romantic overseas destination, the world will have to come to you.
The pancake recipe here will have you dreaming of cosying up in Whistler. It’s provided by Sunny Queen eggs which has come up with an egg-xotic menu of recipes inspired by some of the world’s most romantic cities.
Other recipes on the Sunny Queen website (www.sunnyqueen.com.au/recipes) include island-hopping to Santorini with baked eggs with feta, zucchini flowers, spinach and herbs (lunch main course); a Parisian vanilla bean crème brulee with fresh strawberries (dessert); diving into the Maldives with crispy skin barramundi and king prawns (dinner main course); and a gondola ride through Venice with a baked mascarpone and raspberry tart (dessert).
The Whistler-inspired buttermilk pancake stack with crispy bacon, eggs sunny side up and maple syrup, would go beautifully with a refreshing orange and blueberry drink from Infused, a new book from Smith Street Books (RRP $29.99).
This beautifully illustrated book has 70 thirst-quenching recipes for delicious healthy drinks, both chilled and warm.
Chilled drinks include Vitamin E, the orange and blueberry drink here, designed for its antioxidant and detoxifying properties. Others include an Exotic pineapple, mango, lime and basil drink, and the hydrating Pink Lady made with raspberries, strawberries and watermelon-infused water.
Warm drinks include Balinese (kaffir, lemon and galangal infused water) and Passionate, made from passionfruit and peppermint, also perfect for Valentine’s Day. Water never looked as beautiful as it does in this gorgeous book.
Buttermilk pancake stack with crispy bacon, eggs and maple syrup
Serves 2
1 cup self-raising flour
1 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch of sea salt flakes
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
4 rashers streaky bacon
1 egg, separated
2 eggs
Maple syrup
Butter and vegetable oil for cooking
Method
Sieve flour and baking soda into a bowl, add salt and sugar. Separate 1 egg, add buttermilk and only the yolk to the flour mix and gently whisk to combine (do not over mix, a few lumps are okay).
With a whisk, beat the white until firm and foamy and gently fold into the mixture. Using a heavy based non-stick frying pan on medium heat, melt some butter and vegetable oil together. Drop in pancake mix and wait for bubbles to appear in the batter. Flip over and cook for 10-20 seconds. Remove from pan and repeat to use up all the batter. Cover pancakes to keep warm.
Cook the bacon in another pan on medium to high until cooked and crispy. Remove bacon and drain on paper towel. Tip: keep bacon warm in the oven on low (90-100°c temperature).
Wipe out the frying pan, add a small amount of vegetable oil and put over medium heat. Crack 2 eggs into pan and when the whites are mostly set, cover with a lid, and cook until sunny side up. Stack pancakes on a plate, top with sunny side up egg and crispy bacon. Pour maple syrup over to serve
Recipe and image provided by Sunny Queen eggs.
Vitamin E: Orange and Blueberry
Makes about 1.5 litres (6 cups)
200 g blueberries
4 oranges
2 rosemary sprigs, plus extra to garnish (optional)
1.5 litres (6 cups) water
some ice cubes
Wash the blueberries, oranges and rosemary. Cut some of the blueberries in half and the oranges into quarters. Place them in a carafe. Add the rosemary sprigs, water and ice. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Garnish the glasses with a small sprig of rosemary.
Recipe and image from Infused by Angele Ferreux-Maeght, published by Smith Street Books, RRP $29.99.
