Spread festive cheer with this farm breakfast

In Mzansi, Christmas is a joyous celebration filled with lots of family time and of course, plenty of delicious food. Add some festive cheer to your table with this healthy, hearty farm-inspired breakfast spread by journalist, chef and health coach Ulla Pakendorf-Loubser.

What is not to love with this lavish spread of breakfast goodness? With such variety there is sure to be something for everyone! She shares her recipe for a South African farmhouse breakfast of beans, eggs with biltong, avocado salsa and a freshly-baked pot bread.

“This hearty breakfast will nourish your body and mind,” she says. And if you want, you can enjoy it for either lunch or dinner as well.

What better way to spoil your family this season than this full farm-inspired brekkie.

Food unites

Pakendorf-Loubser says what shaped her into the person she is today, all points back to how she was raised. This food lover is also reminded of how her father, renowned journalist and foodie Harald Pakendorf, a well-known political analyst and also a foodie, would wake up at three in the morning to bake bread. 

“I learnt early on that food unites people and we can learn so much from each other’s culture through tasting it,” says Pakendorf-Loubser.

This all-rounder wife and mother-of-two has worked in radio and television, and she’s planning on combining all her qualifications to present a healthier take on recipes and cooking in Mzansi.  

The desire to make a difference keeps her going and constantly motivated. Pakendorf-Loubser plans to grow her health coaching business, to continue developing nourishing recipes for magazines and dreams of a cooking slot on television. 

“There is power in food that goes beyond the nutritional value. My dad and I have a dream of hosting a television series where he talks about the politics and heritage of food and I cook.” 

Try Ulla’s great big South African farmhouse breakfast:

Hearty beans and eggs with biltong

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4-6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• Pinch of cloves, ground
• Large pinch white pepper
• Sea salt (to taste)
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• Dash fresh lemon juice
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• ½ cup wet biltong shavings

For the avocado salsa:

• 1 ripe avocado
• A handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
• A handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• Juice and zest of 1 naartjie
• Segments of ½ naartjie, halved
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
• Large glug of olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Sauté the onion until translucent and fragrant. Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients for the main dish (except the biltong) and simmer for +/- 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
4. Make four round spaces in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Put the lid on and continue to cook until the whites are firm.
5. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the avocado salsa and set aside.
6. When the egg whites are firm, take the pan from the heat and scatter the biltong shavings over it.
7. Serve this wholesome dish with the refreshing avocado salsa and some warm freshly baked bread and farm butter. Yum!

Potbread:

• 2 cups white bread flour
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups rye flour
• 10g sachet instant dried yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• Water, about 700 ml

Method:

1. Take a large mixing bowl and tip in the flours, yeast and salt.
2. Pour in the water and mix with a fork. The dough will be sticky, but don’t worry. Keep on mixing and adding a little bit more flour (if needed), until you can feel it is less sticky but manageable.
3. Flour a flat surface, tip the dough onto it and start kneading the dough by firmly pushing and folding it. Do this until it gets lighter and more alive and springier to the touch.
4. Make a ball, put it back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise to twice the size somewhere warm. This can take up to an hour or more, depending on the moisture in the air. When doubled, gently scrape it out of the bowl and place it back onto the floured surface. Knead it again for a few minutes.
5. In the meantime, butter and generously dust the pot with flour. Heat the oven to 250˚C. Tip the dough into the pot, score it with a sharp knife and let it rise to almost double in size again. Dust with flour, put the lid on and let it bake for 20 minutes on high. Turn the heat down to 200˚C, take the lid off and let it bake for a further 30 minutes.
6. Carefully tip it out of the pot onto a cooling rack and tap on the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it is perfectly baked. Let it cool slightly and settle somewhat before slicing. Serve with farm butter.

ALSO READ: Try Thembeka’s ‘Tee-licious’ tikka chicken wings

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