Breakfast stew, popcorn chicken and waffles make for hearty brunches

Calgary is a city that loves its brunch and people are willing to stand in line for it.

It's often said that breakfast is the favourite meal of the day, and it is the most fun, isn't it?

So the final book in our summer cookbook series is Brunch Life: Comfort Classics and More for the Best Meal of the Day by Matt Basile and Kyla Zanardi. They own a brunch spot called Lisa Marie and a food truck called Fidel Gastro's in Toronto. Their book is set to release soon, on Sept. 11.

Why do people like breakfast and its more substantial late morning version, brunch, so much? It tends to be a social occasion. Even at home, it signifies a leisurely morning.

There are few rules attached to it. Unlike breakfast, which tends to have limited perimeters: cereal, toast, bacon and eggs, or pancakes. If you take your first meal of the day later in the day, it's somehow more acceptable to break your fast with burgers, poutine, and fried chicken and waffles.

• For more of Julie Van Rosendaal's tasty meals, bookmark cbc.ca/juliesrecipes

In Brunch Life, there's an entire chapter dedicated to fried chicken, mostly on waffles, including tandoori chicken and chickpea waffles, a fried cauliflower substitute for plant-based eaters, and bite-sized popcorn chicken and waffle bits. The latter works for brunch and a movie, possibly the best Labour Day long weekend idea ever, or brunch canapés.

When we go out for brunch, we often all order savoury dishes, plus an order of French toast or waffles for the table as a sort of brunch dessert. So why not brunch appetizers, as well?

In a sea of beautiful cookbooks, this one is particularly stunning, and I want to make everything in it. There are interesting toasts where beet and roasted tomato is the new avocado, a spaghetti breakfast pizza and shakshuka, which is made up of eggs poached in a Middle Eastern veggie stew of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and garlic.

There's even a recipe for homemade cinnamon toast crunch cereal with a maple coating you bake on afterward. It's like the non-nutritive cereal varnish in Christmas Vacation. They're like tiny gingerbread squares and tasty.

Although the book isn't quite on store shelves yet, it's a great pick for brunch fans.

Here are a couple recipes to lure a few friends to your kitchen this long weekend. No need to stand in line.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka is the perfect late summer-early fall dish. It's a Middle Eastern stew of tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, eggplant and garlic with eggs nestled in to poach or bake.

In this version, the vegetables are roasted first, then stirred into a tomato sauce with onions, peppers and lentils. I simmered dry French lentils, but they call for canned. This gives it a better texture and more flavour from all that caramelization. Try cooking them on the grill instead for a smokier flavour.

This recipe has been excerpted from Brunch Life: Comfort Classics and More for the Best Meal of the Day.

Roasted vegetables ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed eggplant.
• 2 cups zucchini, cut into half moons.
• 2 cups thickly sliced sweet yellow pepper.
• 2 tbsp canola oil.
• 1 tsp salt.

Spicy lentil sauce ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp canola oil.
• 1 cup minced yellow onion.
• ¼ cup minced garlic, or about six cloves.
• 1 tsp salt.
• ½ tsp black pepper.
• ½ tsp ground cumin.
• ½ tsp chili powder.
• ½ tsp turmeric.
• ½ tsp chili flakes.
• ½ tsp garlic powder.
• 1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes.
• ½ cup canned lentils, drained and rinsed.
• ¾ cup water.
• 1 tbsp butter.

Ingredients for serving:

• 4 large eggs.
• 2 tbsp crumbled feta.
• Fresh basil leaves.
• 1 baguette, sliced. I used torn pitas.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C) and line a sheet with parchment.

In a large bowl, toss the eggplant, zucchini and yellow pepper with the oil and salt. Spread out on the baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes, until they start to brown and soften but still have some bite to them.

To make the lentil sauce, heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat.

Add the onion and garlic and saute for five minutes. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, chili flakes and garlic powder and mix thoroughly. Add the tomatoes and stir well.

Turn the heat down to medium low and allow the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in the lentils, water and butter and continue to simmer for 15 minutes more.

Add the roasted vegetables and stir to combine.

Set the oven to broil and make sure your oven rack is in the middle. Use the back of a spoon to make four evenly spaced divots in the sauce.

Crack the eggs into the divots and transfer the pan to the oven to bake for seven minutes or until the egg whites are fully cooked.

Remove the pan from the oven.

Serving: Garnish with the crumbled feta and basil. Serve family style with the fresh baguette. Serves two to four people.

Popcorn chicken and waffle bits

This version of chicken and waffles is brilliant. Bite-sized fried chicken pieces are far less intimidating to make and cook. They're perfect for nibbling with bites of crisp waffle, all drizzled with a spicy sriracha maple syrup butter.

This recipe has been adapted slightly from Brunch Life. I used only one egg and ½ cup buttermilk. I found the quantity was sufficient.

Popcorn fried chicken ingredients:

• 2 large eggs.
• 1 cup buttermilk.
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or four to five thighs.
• 1 cup all-purpose flour.
• 1 tsp garlic powder.
• 1 tsp salt.
• Canola oil, for cooking.

Waffle bits ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour.
• 2 tsp baking powder.
• 1 tsp sugar.
• 1/4 tsp salt.
• 3/4 cup whole or two per cent milk. You could also use buttermilk, in which case add ½ tsp of baking soda.
• 1 egg.
• 1 tbsp canola oil.

Spicy maple butter ingredients:

• ½ cup butter.
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup.
• 1/4 cup sriracha.

Ingredients for serving:

• 2 cups popped popcorn.

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and buttermilk.

Cut the chicken into 2.5-centimetre or one-inch pieces and add to the egg mixture, making sure they're fully submerged.

In a shallow dish, stir together the flour, garlic powder and salt.

Heat an inch or two of oil in a heavy medium saucepan or deep skillet until it's hot, but not smoking. A scrap of bread should sizzle when dipped in or it should be about 177 C or 350 F, if you have a thermometer.

Working in batches, remove the chicken pieces from the egg mixture and dredge in the flour, pressing as much onto the chicken as you can, particularly those damp bits of buttermilk and flour.

Fry in batches without crowding the pan, until crisp and deep golden, about eight to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

To make the waffles, in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

In another bowl or measuring cup, whisk the milk, egg and oil.

Add to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Cook in a preheated waffle iron until golden and crisp. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the syrup and sriracha, whisking until smooth. In a large bowl, toss the chicken pieces, waffle pieces, popcorn and a drizzle of the spicy maple butter.

Serving: Present in bowls, passing extra spicy maple butter at the table. Serves four.

Hear more about how Julie Van Rosendaal does brunch:

• MORE RECIPES | Savoury pairing of grilled eggplant dip and lagana a fun foray into Greek cuisine
• MORE RECIPES | Delightfully fresh seafood ceviche perfect dish for light summer supper
• MORE RECIPES | Long-forgotten favourites lettuce soup, honey flummery get new twist
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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.