Delicious breakfast recipes for relaxed spring weekends

Beautiful green spinach crêpes, wonderfully fluffy ricotta blueberry pancakes and frothy iced coffee make the most delectable breakfast of the spring. Check out the recipes and whip up tasty treats for a Mother's Day brunch or as a surprise for overnight guests.

ON LEISURELY WEEKEND MORNINGS, it’s worth putting some extra effort into the breakfast and offering something like spinach crêpes with soft-boiled eggs and the first asparagus of the spring.

Traditionally, Finnish spinach pancakes are made of frozen spinach and fried into small, round pancakes. To make thin French-style crêpes, use a large frying pan. Using fresh spinach and preparing the batter in a blender will make the crêpes glow bright green on the breakfast plate. Grated lemon zest gives the batter a fresh zing.

If you like a sweet breakfast, try making one of the most classic café brunches, ricotta blueberry pancakes. The recipe requires some whipping and a few extra bowls, but the amazingly fluffy pancakes are worth it – especially if you serve them with brown butter.

Ricotta blueberry pancakes are among the most classic café brunches.

Frappé is perfect for long springtime breakfasts and eases the longing for summer, as the sun is already shining warmly in but it’s too cold to enjoy an iced drink outdoors. Frappé is a frothy iced coffee invented in Greece.

Especially in summer, the drink is made by blending instant coffee, sugar, water and ice, but you can make it in various ways. Try swapping the instant coffee for strong chilled coffee or espresso. The water, on the other hand, can be replaced with regular or vegetable milk, such as hazelnut or coconut milk. If you wish, you can also pour in some flavored syrup or replace some of the sugar with vanilla sugar.

Spring breakfast recipes:

Spinach crêpes with asparagus and eggs

Ingredients for four servings:
2 eggs
100 g fresh spinach
300 ml milk
162 g wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
50 g melted butter
grated zest of 1 lemon

For serving:
4 eggs
1 bunch of asparagus
Parmesan cheese

Do as follows:
Put the eggs, rinsed and dried spinach and milk in a blender and blend for a short while. Add the flour, salt, black pepper, melted butter and grated lemon zest and blend again until the ingredients are mixed.

Let the batter sit for 30 minutes before making the crêpes and prepare the other ingredients. Boil the eggs to the desired consistency – six minutes is enough for a perfectly soft yolk. If necessary, peel the asparagus stalks and rinse them. Cook them in boiling water for 3–5 minutes until just tender and bright green. You can test the doneness with the tip of a knife.

Blend the batter quickly one more time and fry the crêpes in a mixture of butter and oil until golden brown. Plate the dishes, grate a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on top of the asparagus and sprinkle some salt flakes on the eggs. Serve right away.

Ricotta blueberry pancakes and brown butter

Ingredients for four servings:
4 eggs
162 g wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
200 g Ricotta cheese
200 ml yogurt or buttermilk
150 g blueberries
50 g butter

Do as follows:
Separate the yolks from the whites into large bowls. Add the ricotta and buttermilk or yogurt to the yolk bowl and mix until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients in a third bowl. Whip the whites into a stiff foam. Gently mix the dry ingredients with the yolk mixture using a silicone spatula. First, mix 1/3 of the egg-white foam gently with the batter and then add the rest as carefully as possible to keep the batter fluffy.

Fry the pancakes in oil and sprinkle a handful of blueberries onto each pancake before turning it. Fry until golden brown and serve with brown butter. If you use frozen blueberries, do not defrost them before sprinkling over the pancakes to prevent the batter from getting soggy.

Prepare the brown butter by melting 50 grams of butter in a pan over medium heat. The butter will sizzle at first, but then it will quieten down and the browning will begin. Keep an eye on the color: as soon as it’s golden brown and the butter has a nutty scent, remove the pan from the stove. Serve with pancakes. If you wish, you can sprinkle some sugar onto the pan while the butter is melting to caramelize it slightly.

Frappé

Ingredients for one serving:
2 tbsp instant coffee or 1 shot of chilled espresso
1–2 tsp sugar
200 ml milk or water
5–6 ice cubes

Do as follows:
Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend into a frothy drink. Pour the frappé into a glass and add more ice cubes, if necessary. Serve right away.

Design Stories contributor Suvi Kesäläinen is a photographer, who loves to create dishes that are not only delicious but also fast and easy to make. She’s passionate about the best seasonal ingredients, local food and intriguing culinary trends.

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See also:

• New tableware at Finnish Design Shop >

Text and photos: Suvi Kesäläinen