Élan Wanderlust

Discovering appetising gluten-free breakfast options that you genuinely enjoy can be a challenging task. Many social media influencers promote their overused recipes and ideas, which might satisfy your cravings for a day or two.

However, as humans, we crave variety, and I’ve gathered my top two breakfasts that are likely new to you.

I’ve added a twist to each recipe by making them gluten-free and ensuring they can be prepared in just 15 minutes. Now that’s what I call a good breakfast!

Breakfast No. 1 : Gluten-Free Arayes (meat-stuffed pita)

Originating in Lebanon, this savoury breakfast which is typically made with wheat pittas, was reinvented by me in my humble kitchenette a few month’s ago. Until that point, I thought a healthy protein-rich breakfast could only ever be egg whites with gluten-free bread.

I came across the recipe via famous vlogger Golden Balance and remembered that there are many gluten-free bread alternatives so I could actually eat this one by swapping the main ingredient: pitta bread.

I’ve already linked the best pitta bread for this recipe in my recent article: What to Buy When You’re Gluten-Free in the UK. The one you want to buy is: Warburtons Gluten Free 4 White Soft Pittas.

This recipe is for 1 person (double it for 2 people and so on):

We’re going to heat the final assembled pitta in a George Foreman grill, which I will review at some point – the smallest grill size is perfect for a single person. Switch on the grill as the first step so it can heat up whilst you prepare the mixture to put inside the pitta.

No grill? No problem. Wait until you’ve kneaded the mixture in that case and then switch on the stove and heat up a flat frying pan or grill pan with a few drops of olive oil – medium heat is fine for 2 minutes before placing the filled pitta inside.

The ingredients

• 200g beef mince 15% fat
• 2 whole gluten free pittas
• Parsley (it’s sold in 30g packets here so you can use the whole packet)
• Mint (it’s sold in 30g packets here so you can use the whole packet)
• 1 teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt
• A few twists of black peppercorn grinder
• 2 tablespoons of paprika powder
• 2 and a half tablespoons of allspice powder
• 1 overheaped tablespoon of cumin powder
• 1/2 tablespoon of hot chilli powder
• A few gentle taps of cayenne powder
• 5 crushed garlic gloves, or a whole bulb of garlic if you love garlic!

The only thing that needs to be chopped is the parsley and mint – chop it finely and un-peel the garlic cloves. If you don’t have a garlic presser to crush the garlic for you (I use this one, it’s cheap and great), then chop the garlic as finely as possible – or use a food processor to blitz it and don’t bother finely chopping the parsley and mint if you’re taking this route – just add all 3 and keep blitzing away.

There is no fixed order on what to add to the bowl as it’s all going to be mixed anyhow.

You can add all ingredients in a mixing bowl (the mince, the spices, the crushed garlic and chopped herbs) – wear gloves!! and knead it altogether for a good 3-4 minutes until everything is mixed.

The traditional recipe calls for grated onion but I omit this since it causes the pitta to become wet once you put it on the grill – the water from the onion escapes and causes a soggy pitta (who wants that?).

I also want to keep the recipe friendly for the digestive system and onion can cause stomach upset for some people. If you have issues with garlic, you can omit that from the recipe too and potentially add a tablespoon of Asafoetida, an Indian herb, which is said to mimic garlic’s earthy flavour.

Get it ready for the grill

Now is the final assembly part: take a pitta on a flat chopping board and cut it in half equally. This will naturally create a slit which you can gently open a bit further as we’re going to use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture from the bowl and into the empty pitta.

Using your (preferably gloved) hands, move around the mixture a bit by gently pressing the outside of the pitta and ensure it’s equally dispersed.

Now, place the filled pitta on the George Foreman and close it. Let it cook for 4 minutes max. Or for the heated pan, increase the heat to medium and after 2.5 minutes, turn it over mid-way so it cooks for a total of 4-5 minutes. Use your judgement here too – it shouldn’t be on any heat for more than 5 minutes and if it was sparsely filled, reduce the total time by a minute or 2.

Once it’s ready – plate it and consider using a kitchen paper towel to dab any excess fat which leaks from the meat. I always add a dollop of dairy-free yoghurt on the side.

Salads are also welcome to join the party/plate.

Breakfast No. 2: Breakfast Burrito – Mexican food for the win

Granted this meal is probably not new to you but the execution is probably quite unique. This recipe is simpler than the one above but it does require you to have some ingredients already in the fridge. One of them being mashed potato. A day or 2 old mashed potato is fine.

First, scramble 2 eggs in olive oil/coconut oil. You probably already know how to do this so I won’t break down the steps.

Once that’s done, take it out and put it on your final serving plate.

Next, take a tablespoon or 2 of mashed potato and put it in the same pan you used for the eggs (fewer dishes in the morning is always the goal) and if the potato is not already spiced –add a dash of cayenne pepper.

Once the potato mash becomes soft and warm, heat up 3 Old El Paso Gluten Free Regular Original Tortillas x6 216g.

I’m lazy so I take a shortcut and fold the tortilla in half and put it in the toaster on the second-lowest setting and then one more time again by unfolding it and toasting the other side.

The instructions state this has to be heated in the oven, but I want to avoid lenghty and complex breakfasts/meals in general. I believe the toaster does a good enough job, and it’s already on your kitchen worktop anyway. If you don’t have a toaster, consider heating it on the pan for a minute or 2 on each side, with medium heat setting.

Assembling the burrito

Now, lay out your heated tortillas flat on the same plate as the eggs, add a dash of ketchup or whatever table condiment you prefer across the tortilla.

Then, taking a spoon, scoop the scrambled eggs on the plate and place in the middle of the tortilla and spread it out downwards. Follow up immediately by placing the heated mashed potato on top of the eggs.

You can also add other ingredients like sweetcorn, sliced meat, and if you fancy black beans, add those to the same pan as the scrambled eggs once they’ve been cooked. You can really go to town with fillings here but I keep it simple in the interest of time.

The final step is to simply fold the filled tortilla into a burrito-like shape (use the above diagram as a guide) – buen provecho! If you want a crunchier tortilla texture, wrap it tightly and place the completed burrito back in the same pan used for cooking the eggs, and let it cook on medium-high heat. Turn it over every 30 seconds until it reaches your desired texture.

*The Featured Image for this article is from Love & Lemons.