If 2020 is the year of exciting salads, it’s also the year salads aren’t confined to lunch. Or dinner. They’re good for breakfast too. But not any salad, it needs to be a breakfast salad, which has 4 requirements:
1. Vegetables – it’s not a salad without a vegetable. But it’s the morning, not the time of day you have time to wait on your veggies to cook. You want veggies you can slice and add – think tomatoes, avocado and a green like rocket or spinach. If you have some time to spare, sauté your tomatoes so they become juicey and soft. And if you’ve overachieved by pre-roasting vegetables, which now sit in little Tupperware in your fridge, throw some of those in too.
2. Eggs – it’s the morning. Maybe you’ve just worked out, maybe not. But protein is always a good addition to a meal. Eggs are the preferred breakfast protein. Preferably you want them prepared in a manner that leaves the yolk gooey – so choose fried, poached or soft boiled. This makes them all the better to be mopped up by the delicious carb we’re about to come to.
3. A breadlike element – this is the vehicle you’ll be using to mop up that egg yolk, eat the veggies and that sauce we’re about to introduce. You want this to be soft – naan bread or pita are top choices. For a better eating experience, heat a non-stick pan and pop the naan/pita in it. Cook for 30 seconds each side to give it warmth, softness and just the right amount of burn.
4. A sauce – this is the dressing of your breakfast salad. You don’t want something too liquid; you want something that can be spread over your bread, something to dip a veggie into. This can be premade or bought. Pesto and hummus work, but the roasted red pepper dip below works even better.
Now that we’ve detailed the components, behold below for our breakfast salad recipe.
How To Make a Salad for Breakfast
Ingredients
Breakfast Salad
- 1 Naan Bread
- 2 fried eggs
- 1 C rocket
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 C Cherry Tomatoes
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 tbsp red pepper dip recipe below
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
- 1 large red pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 5 large leaves fresh basil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Breakfast Salad
- Heat a frying pan with some olive oil in it. Slice your cherry tomatoes and add them to the hot pan. Reduce flame to low and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes are softened and bursting with juice. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Fry your eggs.
- Heat a non-stick pan. Once hot, add in the naan bread. Cook, 30 seconds each side till warmed.
- Assemble your breakfast salad by adding your rocket, tomatoes, avo and egg to a bowl. Dollop a few tablespoons of red pepper dip on top and serve with warmed naan bread on the side.
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
- Preheat your oven to 220C
- Place your red pepper on a baking tray and cook for 30-40 minutes. Rotate the pepper every 10 minutes, or until that side is blackened (tip: use a tong not your hands to rotate). The pepper is done when it is fully blackened. Remove and let cool.
- Once the pepper is cool, peel the blackened skin. It should easily peel off using your fingers now. Cut open and remove seeds.
- Add the roasted red pepper along with the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste.
- Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
