Breakfast of dreams with beans, sunshine tomatoes and chia seed pudding
Packed full of flavour and easy to make, this balanced breakfast will give you plenty of energy for the day ahead.
Ingredients
For the mango and chia pudding
- 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk (preferably organic)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 200ml/⅓ pint tinned mango pulp or purée
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom (or the seeds of 3 crushed pods)
- ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 75g chia seeds
- 1 tbsp full-fat live Greek yoghurt or plant-based alternative
- handful fresh or tinned mango chunks
For the breakfast beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 2 x 400g tins fava beans, drained
- ½ tsp hot paprika
- ½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
- ½ lemon, juice only
- sea salt
- 2 soft-boiled eggs
- selection of pickled vegetables (optional)
- 4 pitta breads, toasted (optional)
For the relish
For the sunshine tomatoes and labneh on toast
- 4 large, thick slices of sourdough bread
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
- 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
- 200g/7oz labneh (or cream cheese)
- 180g/6â…“oz ripe cherry tomatoes of various colours, sliced in half
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (or balsamic vinegar)
- ½ tsp sumac
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
- handful finely chopped fresh parsley
- handful pomegranate seeds
- sea salt
Method
To make the mango and chia pudding, combine all the ingredients, except the chia seeds and yoghurt, in a bowl and whisk well to combine. You want to make sure that any coconut solids are well emulsified into the mixture and no lumps remain.
Add the chia seeds and stir gently for a minute or two. You will notice the mixture will start to thicken. Place it in the fridge for a few hours before serving. (You can also make this the night before for breakfast the next morning.)
To make the breakfast beans, place the olive oil in a small saucepan over a low heat. When it has just started warming through, add the garlic, cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. The idea is to cook out the rawness of the garlic for a minute or two without letting it colour or burn.
Add the drained fava beans to the warm garlic oil along with the paprika and chilli flakes. Top with 300ml/½ pint of kettle-hot water and braise over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
You will notice that the beans start breaking down slightly and thickening the whole mixture. Season with the lemon juice and a little salt to taste.
To make the relish, grate the tomato into a small bowl. Add the olive oil and parsley and stir. Set aside.
To make the sunshine tomatoes and labneh on toast, brush each slice of bread with a teaspoon of olive oil then toast in a hot griddle pan until charred and crisp. Rub the surface of each toasted slice with the garlic clove, taking care not to squash the bread.
Spread the labneh over the slices of toast and top with the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle over some sea salt. Drizzle the pomegranate molasses and more olive oil over the tomatoes, followed by a sprinkling of the sumac, oregano and chilli flakes. Top with chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds.
Serve the mango and chia pudding, top with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and fruit of your choice such as mango. Put the breakfast beans in individual small deep bowls and top with the tomato relish and, half a soft-boiled egg, pickled vegetables and toasted pitta breads. Finish with the sunshine tomatoes on toast.
