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Recipe Category: Breakfast

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Sweets & Treats

Panipopo

24 servings
Shiny rows of rolls in a glass baking pan. Sitting on top of sweet coconut milk. Gray napkin underneath.

Panipopo hails from American Samoa. It’s a treat that’s so much more than the sum of its parts. Fluffy rolls are baked atop and soaked in sweet, velvety coconut cream.

This recipe is adapted from a wonderful family recipe posted on manaui.com: “Why Samoan panipopo is food for the soul.”

Ingredients

  • 4 – 7 ¼ cups flour, divided 
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • 1 ¾ oz butter 
  • 1 cup plus 3 Tbsp sugar, divided 
  • 3 tsp active dry yeast 
  • 5 – 6 cups warm water, divided 
  • 1 can coconut cream (1 ¾ cups) 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine salt and 4 cups flour. Rub in the butter until the flour feels “silky” and clumps a little. Make a well in the middle, add sugar. 

To a small non-plastic bowl, add yeast and, very slowly, 1 cup of very warm water. Stir until yeast is dissolved, using fingers if you’d like to help the process along. Pour yeast-water into the well in the flour mixture – you should see yeast begin to bubble up as it contacts sugar. 

Using a wooden spoon, fold flour into the liquid and mix everything together thoroughly. Add more warm water, 2-3 cups, until it becomes a thick batter that still jiggles a bit when you shake the bowl. 

Cover bowl lightly with a clean towel or parchment paper. Leave in a warm, dry spot to rise for 2 hours. By then, the dough should have doubled in size with lots of holes in it. Spread 2 cups flour on a clean work surface and put the dough on top of it. Fold flour into dough and knead until it’s much less sticky and absorbed almost all the flour, about 5 minutes. 

When dough is easier to hold but still a little sticky, and a lot more solid than batter, put back in bowl and cover again for a second rise—about an hour. By that time, dough should have doubled in size and have more holes, but less than last time. 

Add ½ cup flour to your clean work surface and knead dough until it’s less sticky. Cut dough into palm-sized pieces and roll into spheres on the work surface. 

Preheat oven to 400°. Place buns in neat rows in a 9” x 13” baking pan, they’ll keep rising while you prepare the coconut cream sauce. 

Pour coconut cream into a bowl. To the empty can, add 2 Tbsp flour and some warm water to stir into the flour until you have a thick liquid. Add more warm water until the can is full, pour the water-flour mixture into the coconut cream. Stirring continuously, add in 1 more cup of warm water and then 1 cup sugar. 

Set aside 1 cup of coconut cream sauce and pour the rest into the pan with the buns. Put pan into oven, with a sheet pan one rack down to catch any drips, and bake 20 minutes. Check buns at this point, the sauce should have cooked down a bit. Add the reserved cup of coconut cream sauce and bake 20-25 minutes more. 

Buns should now be golden on top with coconut cream sauce bubbling around the bottom. Remove pan from oven, covering with foil so buns don’t dry out as they cool. Serve warm. 

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Frittata

4-6 servings
Round egg frittata filled with herbs and greens, cut into slices. Black spatula holding one slice above the rest, all on a circular wooden cutting board.

The ratio of eggs to half and half (or cream) and cheese will give you the delightful richness you’re looking for.

Whatever you’ve got on hand that doesn’t have a lot of water content can make great add-ins, like carrots, greens, beans – even some leftover cooked pasta – but maybe not tomatoes.

Just make sure the egg/cream/cheese combo covers your goodies and there isn’t too much watery liquid left over from the pre-cooking – strain ‘em if need be. 

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil 
  • ½ lb tiny potatoes, sliced thinly 
  • ½ cup ham, diced 
  • 1 ½ cups fresh spinach, cut into ribbons 
  • 2 green onions, sliced 
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced 
  • Generous pinches salt and pepper, to taste 
  • Pinch smoked paprika 
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder 
  • ¼ tsp onion powder 
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard 
  • 8 eggs 
  • ¼ cup half and half or heavy cream 
  • ¾ cup shredded cheese, divided 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. Butter a standard loaf pan (glass is best but whatever you’ve got). 

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, 2 Tbsp water and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper.  Cover/cook about 12-15 minutes, until softened. Drain any excess water from the skillet and stir in garlic, ham, spinach and green onions. Cook until spinach is wilted and garlic fragrant. Place add-ins in prepared loaf pan and spread out evenly. 

In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, Dijon and dry seasonings. Fold in ½ cup of the shredded cheese. Pour over add-ins and top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake until eggs are set, about 15-20 minutes, more as needed. Once eggs are set, remove foil and broil about 2 minutes for a crispy top. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving to make sure eggs are set. 

Go with a combo of the cheese you have on hand. Leftovers to use: steamed broccoli, grilled veggies, cooked pasta, roasted squash. 

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Vegan

Dutch Oven Boule

Round bread loaf sitting in a red Dutch oven pan. Parchment paper between bread and pan. White-painted wood grain surface behind.

A boule is simply a round bread, but it elevates it dramatically when you add it to your culinary lexicon, along with some garlic or herbed compound butter for slathering.  

Let the bread cool completely before slicing to truly enjoy the flavor and allow for proper slicing. Use a serrated knife, gently but deliberately “saw” back and forth in long strokes across the bread to create the pieces, rather than the “press and wiggle” technique, which will leave you with a smushed slice. 

Pro tip #1: Baking by weight will produce a more consistent result. We highly recommend investing in a scale when doing any bread or pastry making.  

Pro tip #2: Using metric measurements allows for much easier scaling up or down. No need to try to do math gymnastics with ounces and pounds!  

Ingredients

  • 3 cups (345 g) bread flour, plus more for shaping 
  • 1 Tbsp salt 
  • 1 ¼ tsp active dry yeast  
  • 1 ½ cups warm water  

Directions

Whisk together bread flour, salt and yeast until combined. Pour in warm water and stir until you have a shaggy, sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and set in a warm spot until dough doubles in size —2 to 6 hours.  

Punch down dough. Shape into a ball, twisting the dough around on the countertop with your palms (the bottom of the dough stays in place). Place dough on a piece of parchment paper with a bit of flour on it. Cover with damp kitchen towel again.  

Heat oven to 450°. Put a 6-quart Dutch oven with cover in the oven and allow it to heat up while the oven preheats.  

Allow the dough to rest and rise for 30 minutes. At this point you may score the top layer of your dough using a lame or very sharp paring knife. Carefully remove hot! Dutch oven lid and place dough with parchment underneath in Dutch oven and close lid. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap it with a spoon.  

Remove from oven and let cool at least one hour.  

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Vegan

Open-Faced Koji Pâté Sandwich with Olives and Caramelized Onions

4-8 servings
Fresh koji, plant-based pate on ciabatta bread with roasted onions and olives on wooden table

Koji is a variety of molds – Aspergillus oryzae – that are used in fermentation and are safe to eat. It contains about fifty enzymes that break down starches in grains such as rice into sugars and makes these sugars available for yeasts to consume in the fermentation process. The use of koji dates to the 8th century, and it’s a vital ingredient in many traditional Japanese products such as pickles, sake, soy sauce and miso. If you’ve ever eaten any of these things, you’ve enjoyed the transformative process of koji.

The folks at Prime Roots have developed meat alternatives using koji, and the results are tasty and satisfying. BriarPatch carries their pâté products – Harvest and Black Truffle. Here’s a simple recipe using pâté that’s a great way to see what the Prime Roots version is all about. 

Ingredients

  • 8 slices crusty artisan bread 
  • 1 cup pitted green olives (we like Frescatrano or Castelventrano) 
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling 
  • 1 bay leaf 
  • 2 large yellow onions, halved/sliced 
  • ¼ tsp sea salt 
  • 2 6 oz tubs Prime Roots Koji pâté  
  • Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish 

Directions

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and bay leaf and stir/cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Add salt, reduce heat to medium low and cook for 50-80 minutes or until onions are very soft, golden brown and caramelized. Stir every few minutes as you go. Timing will depend on your type of pan, size of onions and heat of your stove. 

If onions start to stick to the pan, reduce heat to low. To speed things up after 50 minutes, turn heat higher for more caramelization and stir continuously to prevent burning. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Discard bay leaf.

Slice bread, drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and lightly toast in the oven on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  

Remove bread from oven and spread each surface with pâté. Top each slice with caramelized onions, olives and thyme sprigs.  

Breakfast, Keto & Paleo, Lunch & Dinner

Herbed Ricotta Spread

4 - 6 servings
Herbed Ricotta Spread - sunflower-seed-studded bread, sliced and spread with white cheese mixed with green herbs. Parsley garnish. Wooden cutting board on grey cement surface.

Delicious, luscious and easy – what more can you ask for? Serve with fancy crackers or grilled baguette if you’re really feeling like going all out, otherwise enjoy on toast or bagels with figs and balsamic vinegar, or top with garden-fresh tomato slices…whatever gives you joy. Serves 4 – 6.

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz tub Organic Valley Whole Milk Ricotta
  • 1 cup of your favorite fresh herbs, finely chopped, reserving a bit for garnish
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated
  • 2 Tbsp high quality olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Mix together all ingredients well in a bowl. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired.
  2. Shmear on crackers or baguette, drizzling a bit more olive oil and sprinkling reserved herbs.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Sweets & Treats

Chilled Strawberry Soup  

4 servings

A staple of Scandinavian breakfasts of the 1970s, strawberry soup is a refreshing – and surprising – way to elevate your strawberry game in a relaxed, easy-going style, perfect for a summer first course or dessert.  

 

Ingredients

  • 2 pints strawberries, hulled, reserving 6 
  • 1 cup fresh orange juice  
  • 1¼ tsp instant tapioca  
  • 1/6 tsp allspice  
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon  
  • ½ cup sugar  
  • 1 tsp grated lemon peel  
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice  
  • 1 cup buttermilk  

Directions

  1. Purée strawberries in food processor or blender. Strain into a saucepan. Add orange juice. 
  2. In a small bowl, mix tapioca, spices and  3 Tbsp of strawberry mixture together and add back to saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in sugar, lemon peel and juice and buttermilk until combined.    
  3. Slice the 6 remaining strawberries, add to the soup. Cover and chill soup for at least 8 hours. Keeps for up to three days.