When it comes to hosting (and actually enjoying) brunch, take some advice from the professionals and don’t shoot for the moon. “It’s more about spending time with family and friends rather than trying to impress them and act like you’re Jamie Oliver,” says Ethan Smart, head chef at Bondi’s Rocker. “I think it’s important to try and keep it simple. The food’s important but, with brunch, the idea is to have drinks with your friends and eating is kind of second.”
In this pair of brunch recipes, Smart and bar manager Augusto Hechem have opted for approachability and simple preparation, letting fresh summer apricots do the talking. “Apricots are really in season at the moment, they’re juicy, they’re big,” says Hechem.
The sourdough, burrata and apricot jam
Smart’s dish is deceptively simple and puts the focus squarely on the apricots. “With burrata I always try to pair it with something sweet like a fruit or something to lighten it up a bit,” he says. “It’s also nice to show people that you can [pair burrata with other things] not just with tomatoes.”
A good loaf of bread is the place to start. Rocker sources sourdough from Iggy’s, but go with what you know. “Going out of your way and going that little step further away from big supermarkets to pick up a nice loaf of bread is important,” says Smart.
The king of this dish is the apricot jam, and it starts with charring the apricots for some added complexity. Once you’ve halved and pitted the apricots, add them to a non-stick pan or barbeque until they’re nicely darkened on both sides. Then you’re ready to make the jam. In this case, though, you’re not going for the smooth consistency of store-bought preserves.
“It’s called a jam but I think it’s important to make sure it doesn’t look like a jam,” says Smart. “It’s more about using the sugar to preserve the shape of the apricot. You grill the apricots and then that holds them in their shape and it starts caramelising the sugars.” When making the jam, Smart recommends pulling back before the apricots start to break down too much – you’re really aiming to have identifiable pieces of apricot remaining. You can do this a few days in advance, too, to really make things easy on the day.
With the jam made, all you need to do is plate and serve. Add a few generous dollops in a serving bowl, top with burrata and garnish with some toasted almonds. Serve with pan-toasted sourdough on the side.
The spritz
Brunch cocktails need to play both sides of the fence: approachable but you still want to know you’re drinking a cocktail. “The main drink people consume at brunch is mimosas,” says Hechem. “We don’t try to do anything too heavy or anything too overwhelming. So that’s why the spritz needs to be fresh, it needs to be fruity.”
Like Smart’s dish, the star of Hechem’s spritz is market-fresh apricots. In this case, though, you’re making a puree. Hechem uses apricots (skinned and pitted) blended with a 1:1 sugar syrup – that’s one part water to one part sugar, if you’re making it at home. When blending, consistency is key. “To give you an example, when you cook something in a pan and you coat the back of the spoon and it sticks, that’s what you’re after,” says Hechem. “You also want it to go through a straw – you want it to be drinkable.”
Spritzes are normally built in the glass (in this case, a large wine glass) but Hechem takes a different approach by shaking the apricot, Grey Goose vodka and lemon together so it’s one consistency. “I shake those three ingredients, pour it into the glass, top it up with sparkling wine – prosecco in this case –and just garnish it with dehydrated lemon wheel and thyme sprig,” he says. “The thyme is mostly for the aromatics in the drink. When you’re bringing the glass to your mouth you’ll be smelling the thyme.”
Here's how to make the burrata and charred apricot jam on sourdough paired with the Summer Thyme Spritz at home.
Burrata and charred apricot jam on sourdough
Serves 2-4 (as a starter)
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1kg fresh apricots, washed and halved, stoned removed
800g brown sugar
1 lemon
2 bunches of thyme
80g shaved almonds
Good olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Flaky salt
1 sourdough loaf
100g La Stella Burrata
Method:
Put a large non-stick pan on high heat and place the apricot halves face down. Flip the apricots once you've got a dark char mark and repeat on the other side.
Once apricots are coloured, place them into a pot suitable for making jam. Add the brown sugar, 2 sprigs of thyme and the zest and juice of one lemon to the pot. On low heat, slowly melt the sugar into the apricots, stirring occasionally. You want this jam to be chunky so only cook it for 5-10 minutes. Try not to break down the apricots too much. Once done, set aside to cool in a container or sterilised jar.
While the jam is cooling, set your oven to 150°C and lightly toast the shaved almonds – you want an even brown on all of them.
In a small mixing bowl, add the toasted almonds to 100ml of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, leaves from 1 bunch of thyme and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Once the jam is cooled, toast your sourdough, preferably in a pan with a good amount of olive oil. Once the bread is ready you can start plating.
Add 3 generous tablespoons of the jam to a serving bowl. Place the burrata on top, then carefully spoon your oil mix over the top of the burrata, making sure to get lots of almonds on top. Sprinkle some flaky salt on top and serve with your toasted sourdough.
Summer Thyme Spritz
Makes 1 serving. Approx 2 standard drinks.
Ingredients:
50ml Grey Goose Vodka
2 medium apricots, pitted and skinned
100ml simple syrup
20ml lemon juice
Prosecco
Dehydrated lemon (optional)
Thyme (optional)
Method:
To make the apricot pureé, blitz the apricots with the simple syrup. Adjust sweetness to taste.
In a shaker add Grey Goose Vodka, 25ml apricot purée and the lemon juice. Shake vigorously.
Fine strain into an iced spritz glass and top with prosecco. Garnish with dehydrated lemon and a thyme sprig.
This article was produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Grey Goose.
