Cook This: Three breakfast recipes from Sundays

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Our cookbook of the week is Sundays: A Celebration of Breakfast and Family in 52 Essential Recipes by Mark Pupo. Read an interview with the author.

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Jump to the recipes: zucchini quiche and farmer’s sausage, cheddar polenta cakes and brown sugar bacon, and banana bread with brandy butter icing.

There’s a lot to love about Mark Pupo’s zucchini quiche and farmer’s sausage. Reason No. 1: It’s crustless. “Quiche is a very, very approachable recipe no matter what. But making pie crust is always a pain,” says the Toronto writer. “It never comes out the same way twice.”

Filled with diced zucchini, sliced leek and shredded Monterey Jack, the quiche bakes in a pie plate on its own. “It comes out really, really neat, perfectly. So, it’s a nice way to do a quiche that’s even more efficient, and especially when you’re racing around in the morning trying to get something baked or prepared, hopefully on a weekend.”

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Sundays records a year’s worth of weekend breakfasts Pupo made with his son, Sam, who was four years old when they embarked on the project and is now six. Quiche was an important dish for Pupo to share with Sam, especially because it’s one of the first recipes his mother helped him master. And its “pizza-esque flavour profile” doesn’t hurt.

“It’s also a good way to sneak in something green. And not every week is it easy for me to get Sam to eat healthy vegetables,” says Pupo, laughing. “So, how do you get zucchini into something? Put it with some cheese into a quiche and it works really well.”

The second recipe Pupo shared with us from Sundays, cheddar polenta cakes and brown sugar bacon, is another of his childhood favourites. “It was something that I made a lot with my mom growing up. So, I wanted to pass that recipe on to Sam.”

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You can buy premade polenta in a tube, but Pupo likes to make it from scratch. He prefers the consistency of homemade polenta. Plus, it offers the opportunity to stir in some cheese. “I think cheese, basically in any recipe, is something that makes it more memorable for kids.”

Making polenta from scratch is also an opportunity for learning. “I wanted to get Sam involved in the process to get him to experience what it’s actually like to make something involving a corn product like that.”

On their own, the cheddar polenta cakes make “more of a snacky kind of breakfast.” Pupo recommends rounding them out with his sweet-and-salty brown sugar bacon and fried eggs.

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Lastly, we have Pupo’s banana bread with brandy butter icing, a favourite of his and Sam’s. It’s lighter than your typical banana bread and, baked in a Bundt pan, more of a cake. “You fold in egg whites as the last step before you pour it into the pan to bake. And that gives it that airy, more cake-like consistency.”

It’s an ideal recipe to have in your back pocket when you’re expecting guests, he adds — although it requires some planning ahead to ensure you have four ripe bananas on hand.

“I just love to make it, especially on the weekend. It’s a bit of a brunch kind of recipe. Sam and I will both eat banana bread any time of the day — and any day of the week, for that matter. But it’s a really nice, sort of special thing to serve.

“And also, not everyone wants to have eggs first thing in the morning. They might want to have something a little plainer and sweeter. And banana bread is this all-purpose recipe that you can just pull out and everyone loves it.”

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ZUCCHINI QUICHE AND FARMER’S SAUSAGE

8 farmer’s sausages (look for the stubby, breakfast-size kind)
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 medium zucchini (ideally one green and one yellow), diced
1 leek, green parts discarded, and white section sliced into thin rounds
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup grated mild cheese (Monterey Jack or a mild cheddar)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tsp lemon zest
Pepper, to taste
1 tbsp panko breadcrumbs

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Butter the base and sides of a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate.

Step 2

Arrange the sausages in an 8-inch (20-cm) stoneware baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until browned.

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Step 3

While the sausages bake, heat a cast-iron skillet to medium with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Fry the zucchini and leeks until the leeks are translucent and the zucchini is soft but not collapsing, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a bowl and let cool on the counter.

Step 4

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the milk, eggs, mild cheese, Parmesan, parsley, lemon zest and pepper. Stir in the cooled vegetables until evenly distributed.

Step 5

Pour the quiche mix into the pie plate and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and more fresh-ground pepper. Bake beside the sausages on the middle rack for about 30 minutes, until the top is starting to brown. Serve warm. If you have any left over, it’ll make for a nice mid-afternoon snack.

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Serves: 4

CHEDDAR POLENTA CAKES AND BROWN SUGAR BACON

For the polenta:
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 cup polenta (medium- or coarse-ground cornmeal)
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided (optional)

For the bacon:
1 lb (450 g) bacon (about 16 slices)
1/2 cup brown sugar

Step 1

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the salt and whisk in the polenta. Simmer on low for 5 minutes, whisking frequently to get rid of any lumps. Once it forms a smooth paste, cover the pot and simmer for half an hour. Give the polenta a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon every 5 minutes. When the polenta is almost too thick to stir, take off the heat. Mix in pepper, butter, cheese and half the chopped parsley.

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Step 2

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tins. Let cool, uncovered, in the fridge for 2 hours or, ideally, overnight. Before serving, sprinkle the reserved parsley overtop.

Step 3

To make the bacon, preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Place an oven-safe metal wire rack on top of parchment paper in a baking sheet. Spread out the bacon evenly on the rack. Distribute the sugar over the bacon. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned and mostly crispy, depending on the thickness of your bacon. This can be made ahead and served at room temperature.

Serves: 4

BANANA BREAD WITH BRANDY BUTTER ICING

For the banana bread:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
4 ripe bananas
3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans (optional)

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For the brandy butter icing:
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp brandy
12 pecan halves, for topping (optional)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Butter every nook and cranny of the inside of a Bundt pan, then dust with flour to help prevent the cake from sticking.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, then mix well with the egg yolks, milk, oil and vanilla. Pour into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. If you’re including the nuts, stir them into the batter. Now, in a dry mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they turn solid white and form peaks. This will take some extra muscle, and you may want to take turns with an eager kid. Alternatively, use an electric mixer, which will later come in handy if you’re making the brandy butter.

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Step 3

Fold the whites into the batter, being careful not to over-mix (you want to keep that extra volume from the whites). Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick or wood skewer into the cake — if it comes out clean, it’s done.

Step 4

While the cake is cooling, make the brandy butter icing. It’s simple: in a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and then add the powdered sugar, trying your best to avoid it blowing everywhere. Mix until smooth, then add the brandy to taste. You’ll have enough icing to spread over the very top of the cooled cake — any more would be too rich, especially at breakfast. Decorate the top with pecan halves.

Serves: 8 to 10

Recipes and images excerpted from Sundays: A Celebration of Breakfast and Family in 52 Essential Recipes by Mark Pupo. Copyright ©2023 Mark Pupo. Illustration copyright ©2023 Christopher Rouleau. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Article content

Our cookbook of the week is Sundays: A Celebration of Breakfast and Family in 52 Essential Recipes by Mark Pupo. Read an interview with the author.

Article content

Jump to the recipes: zucchini quiche and farmer’s sausage, cheddar polenta cakes and brown sugar bacon, and banana bread with brandy butter icing.

There’s a lot to love about Mark Pupo’s zucchini quiche and farmer’s sausage. Reason No. 1: It’s crustless. “Quiche is a very, very approachable recipe no matter what. But making pie crust is always a pain,” says the Toronto writer. “It never comes out the same way twice.”

Filled with diced zucchini, sliced leek and shredded Monterey Jack, the quiche bakes in a pie plate on its own. “It comes out really, really neat, perfectly. So, it’s a nice way to do a quiche that’s even more efficient, and especially when you’re racing around in the morning trying to get something baked or prepared, hopefully on a weekend.”

Article content

Sundays records a year’s worth of weekend breakfasts Pupo made with his son, Sam, who was four years old when they embarked on the project and is now six. Quiche was an important dish for Pupo to share with Sam, especially because it’s one of the first recipes his mother helped him master. And its “pizza-esque flavour profile” doesn’t hurt.

“It’s also a good way to sneak in something green. And not every week is it easy for me to get Sam to eat healthy vegetables,” says Pupo, laughing. “So, how do you get zucchini into something? Put it with some cheese into a quiche and it works really well.”

The second recipe Pupo shared with us from Sundays, cheddar polenta cakes and brown sugar bacon, is another of his childhood favourites. “It was something that I made a lot with my mom growing up. So, I wanted to pass that recipe on to Sam.”

Article content

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You can buy premade polenta in a tube, but Pupo likes to make it from scratch. He prefers the consistency of homemade polenta. Plus, it offers the opportunity to stir in some cheese. “I think cheese, basically in any recipe, is something that makes it more memorable for kids.”

Making polenta from scratch is also an opportunity for learning. “I wanted to get Sam involved in the process to get him to experience what it’s actually like to make something involving a corn product like that.”

On their own, the cheddar polenta cakes make “more of a snacky kind of breakfast.” Pupo recommends rounding them out with his sweet-and-salty brown sugar bacon and fried eggs.

Article content

Lastly, we have Pupo’s banana bread with brandy butter icing, a favourite of his and Sam’s. It’s lighter than your typical banana bread and, baked in a Bundt pan, more of a cake. “You fold in egg whites as the last step before you pour it into the pan to bake. And that gives it that airy, more cake-like consistency.”

It’s an ideal recipe to have in your back pocket when you’re expecting guests, he adds — although it requires some planning ahead to ensure you have four ripe bananas on hand.

“I just love to make it, especially on the weekend. It’s a bit of a brunch kind of recipe. Sam and I will both eat banana bread any time of the day — and any day of the week, for that matter. But it’s a really nice, sort of special thing to serve.

“And also, not everyone wants to have eggs first thing in the morning. They might want to have something a little plainer and sweeter. And banana bread is this all-purpose recipe that you can just pull out and everyone loves it.”

Article content

ZUCCHINI QUICHE AND FARMER’S SAUSAGE

8 farmer’s sausages (look for the stubby, breakfast-size kind)
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 medium zucchini (ideally one green and one yellow), diced
1 leek, green parts discarded, and white section sliced into thin rounds
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup grated mild cheese (Monterey Jack or a mild cheddar)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tsp lemon zest
Pepper, to taste
1 tbsp panko breadcrumbs

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Butter the base and sides of a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate.

Step 2

Arrange the sausages in an 8-inch (20-cm) stoneware baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until browned.

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Step 3

While the sausages bake, heat a cast-iron skillet to medium with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Fry the zucchini and leeks until the leeks are translucent and the zucchini is soft but not collapsing, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a bowl and let cool on the counter.

Step 4

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the milk, eggs, mild cheese, Parmesan, parsley, lemon zest and pepper. Stir in the cooled vegetables until evenly distributed.

Step 5

Pour the quiche mix into the pie plate and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and more fresh-ground pepper. Bake beside the sausages on the middle rack for about 30 minutes, until the top is starting to brown. Serve warm. If you have any left over, it’ll make for a nice mid-afternoon snack.

Article content

Serves: 4

CHEDDAR POLENTA CAKES AND BROWN SUGAR BACON

For the polenta:
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 cup polenta (medium- or coarse-ground cornmeal)
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided (optional)

For the bacon:
1 lb (450 g) bacon (about 16 slices)
1/2 cup brown sugar

Step 1

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the salt and whisk in the polenta. Simmer on low for 5 minutes, whisking frequently to get rid of any lumps. Once it forms a smooth paste, cover the pot and simmer for half an hour. Give the polenta a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon every 5 minutes. When the polenta is almost too thick to stir, take off the heat. Mix in pepper, butter, cheese and half the chopped parsley.

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Step 2

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tins. Let cool, uncovered, in the fridge for 2 hours or, ideally, overnight. Before serving, sprinkle the reserved parsley overtop.

Step 3

To make the bacon, preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Place an oven-safe metal wire rack on top of parchment paper in a baking sheet. Spread out the bacon evenly on the rack. Distribute the sugar over the bacon. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned and mostly crispy, depending on the thickness of your bacon. This can be made ahead and served at room temperature.

Serves: 4

BANANA BREAD WITH BRANDY BUTTER ICING

For the banana bread:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
4 ripe bananas
3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans (optional)

Article content

For the brandy butter icing:
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp brandy
12 pecan halves, for topping (optional)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Butter every nook and cranny of the inside of a Bundt pan, then dust with flour to help prevent the cake from sticking.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, then mix well with the egg yolks, milk, oil and vanilla. Pour into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. If you’re including the nuts, stir them into the batter. Now, in a dry mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they turn solid white and form peaks. This will take some extra muscle, and you may want to take turns with an eager kid. Alternatively, use an electric mixer, which will later come in handy if you’re making the brandy butter.

Article content

Step 3

Fold the whites into the batter, being careful not to over-mix (you want to keep that extra volume from the whites). Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick or wood skewer into the cake — if it comes out clean, it’s done.

Step 4

While the cake is cooling, make the brandy butter icing. It’s simple: in a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and then add the powdered sugar, trying your best to avoid it blowing everywhere. Mix until smooth, then add the brandy to taste. You’ll have enough icing to spread over the very top of the cooled cake — any more would be too rich, especially at breakfast. Decorate the top with pecan halves.

Serves: 8 to 10

Recipes and images excerpted from Sundays: A Celebration of Breakfast and Family in 52 Essential Recipes by Mark Pupo. Copyright ©2023 Mark Pupo. Illustration copyright ©2023 Christopher Rouleau. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.