Bring a bit of the Mediterranean into your Breakfast

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It’s amazing how much a place can be associated with its food. I’ve discovered that food is a great way for me to keep my connection going with the Mediterranean every time I return from there.

One of my favorite things about being in the Mediterranean is that I’m always incredibly chilled while I’m there. Quite quickly after leaving, I’ll fall out of these daily rhythms, work takes over, and I’ll miss more and more breakfasts by the day.

I’ve decided to commit myself to preparing a quick and easy Greek/ Mediterranean inspired breakfast at least 3 times a week. If you want to follow suit, here are some of my favourite, practical breakfast dishes – why not get out some of your table cloths this weekend and enjoy some of these early dishes with a few friends?

The Classic Greek Breakfast – Tomatoes, Feta & Bread

Simple, classic, and so good! Typically, Greeks don’t eat until pretty late, but this breakfast keeps them going for a long time! This is a great dish to have with company, so get your gingham tablecloths out and let the morning eating commence!

Organize some baskets of:

Tomatoes – If possible, some ripe, juicy, sweet ‘On the Vine’ tomatoes!

Bread – Wholemeal bread, white, bread and rye bread are all great choices – and fresh and warm is always good, but in the end whatever you prefer.

Olive Oil – None of this bread will be ready to eat Med style without some Olive Oil to drizzle over it, but look into the kind you buy – the cheapest kind is unlikely to be pleasant to the taste and carries hardly any nutritional value. If you’re going to make a habit of the Med style, investing in some good quality olive oil is probably worth it.

Feta – Feta now can be found in most supermarkets and delis but if you have problems getting hold of it, goat’s cheese or some other soft sour cheeses should do the trick just as well – maybe ask your nearest cheese-counter/deli for advice if you’re unsure as to which kind.  Why not opt for a few mixes – Mozzarella always makes a good addition!

Herbs and fruit juice, the finishing touches – When it comes to herbs I’d recommend some Oregano and Parsley, and when serving fruit juice, make sure it’s chilled – nothing worse than tepid fruit juice! I’d also suggest getting some oranges in and squeezing your own, most shop bought juices have a ton of sugar!

The Mediterranean Omelet

You can’t get much simpler than an omelet and it’s a sure fire way to get you going for the day! It’s not hard to add a bit of Mediterranean to the omelet you’re more regularly used to. Just sprinkle some fresh spinach, cut and quartered cherry tomatoes, and about 100g of crumbled Feta cheese to the usual egg and butter mix; it’s also best eaten once all the cheese has melted and with as much black pepper as you want to add to it, Mediterranean flavor is all about that pepper punch! When serving, fold over and slide onto a plate – yum. (A few olives on the side wouldn’t go a miss either!)

Greek Yoghurt , Wild Honey, a Fruit Extravaganza

This is a great healthy dish that will give you enough natural energy and carbohydrates to keep going until lunch easy enough. Get some figs in, get some peaches in, get some plums and slice it all up to lie around a large place. Get some melon in, and remove its outside before chopping into small squares, add to your plate with some fresh strawberries, and I love a bit of Vanilla granola in the mix. Finally get your Greek yoghurt and pour a pile into the centre of dish before adding a bit of wildflower honey to the whole lot.

These three some of my favorite dishes because they literally couldn’t be easier to prepare, on an average morning, people rarely have time to spend long in the kitchen before they have to be on their way somewhere or getting on with something.

These are all dishes I might actually make eat on any regular morning and fill the Med-void in my life when I’m not there, many more where these came from though!

Elise Lévêque is a bubbly freelance writer, foodie lover who enjoys sharing new recipes with her friends. She blogs for Wipe Easy Tablecloth, where she recently found lovely gingham tablecloths, ideal for country homes.