kale and avocado breakfast muffins

… what I adore about holidays – other than the sun and the sea and the salsa – is the inspiration I get for food ideas.  No matter how convinced you are that breakfast is breakfast is breakfast there’s always a culture or cuisine that will knock your socks off your traditional ideas of eggs and bacon.  I remember a work trip to Singapore where we were served a dim sum style breakfast which was rather fabulous but not what I was used to at all but you know me, i’m really not fussy about what I eat or when I eat it.  I have a friend who doesn’t understand how the Europeans eat cheese for breakfast – again, I don’t see an issue with this… It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I go to California I am always surprised about how influential Latin American cuisine is on the every day… I will never look at breakfast in the same way now that i’ve had chipotle spiced potatoes with my huevos rancheros…

… with the start of the year being the time when we all start thinking about planning our holidays the good folk at ebookers have recently launched their Bonus+ programme… they are the first online travel agent that will allow customers to earn rewards on flights, hotels and packaged trips all in one place with both business and leisure travellers being rewarded with meaningful discounts, bonuses and exclusive added value services. The launch of Bonus+ coincides with ebookers’ new brand proposition and website refresh, highlighting ebookers’ commitment to always give it’s customers a more rewarding travel experience… so now it’s even easier to travel and stuff your face with food – oh, of course I mean be influenced by all the incredible cultures…

kale and avocado breakfast muffins
to me these egg ‘muffins’ sum up the California breakfast experience in every mouthful.  To start with they’re not really muffins at all, they’re just muffin-shaped omelettes, carb-free and nicely healthy, like all well behaved Californian food, secondly they have a pinch or two of chipotle spice in them which adds this wonderful depth and punch, most unexpected to us Brits and finally they contain both avocado and kale, two of the Californian superfoods of the moment…

100g baby kale or curly kale
1 large ripe avocado – finely chopped
a handful of cherry tomatoes – finely chopped
100g creamy goats cheese
2 large free-range eggs
1 egg white
salt and pepper
a pinch of chipotle seasoning (optional of course…)
100g strong cheddar – grated

pre-heat the oven to 170C

i’ve used my 6-hole deep muffin tin but this would work in a 12 hole mini tart tin, which I sprayed generously with some Lurpak cooking mist

steam the kale until tender, then once cooled place this into a bowl with the goats cheese, chopped avocado and tomatoes.  Season well and stir together

in a large bowl beat the eggs for a couple of minutes then in another bowl beat the egg white till it reaches soft peaks and gently fold the egg whites into the beaten eggs

place two tablespoons of the kale and avocado mix into each muffin hole and gently pour the egg mixture on top until each muffin hole is filled about two thirds full.

sprinkle each muffin with a little grated cheese and bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes

i’m working with ebookers to develop recipes inspired by my travels and have another post coming soon… and to help inspire you my dear readers, ebookers have generously given me £50 worth of  travel points to give away to one lucky Belleau Kitchen reader… so watch out for that giveaway coming soon on the blog…

eat and of course enjoy!