Breakfast is having a moment: Sam Sifton extolled its benefits, Eater just celebrated a week of it, and Lucky Peach devoted an entire issue to it. (Why now?)
The essential elements of the Most Important Meal of the Day gained momentum quickly—French toast! normal toast! the New York institution that is the "sausage, egg, and cheese"! In Sifton's piece alone, he offered an extensive list of 10-minute first-meal possibilities that began with doughnuts and ended with bacon.
But what about Breakfast Salads? Why isn't anyone talking about the chopped, dressed, egg-graced glory that they are?
Our old friend, breakfast salad, was first brought to our attention over two years ago when Emily Virke shared her love for it. In her recipe's headnote, she wrote:
"After realizing that if a salad with an egg makes a good lunch or supper, it could certainly make a good breakfast (I mean, there's an egg there!), I became a total convert to the egg + salad breakfast."
And revisiting it now, it's clear why it just makes sense:
- Breakfast should be easy. (Salad is easy.)
- Breakfast should be nourishing. (Salad is nourishing.)
- Breakfast should be delicious. (Salad is delicious).
And besides: In countries who haven't been subjected to the football team-themed doughnuts America runs on or "All Day Breakfast," the options are more varied—and more savory: Peruvian ceviche, Italian panino, Welsh rarebit, Chinese jook and congee, Vietnamese pho!
If a salad is always delicious and an egg magically turns meals into breakfast, then Breakfast Salad I'll eat. It isn't revolutionary—and it isn't an egg and cheese—but we're still rooting for it.
Does Breakfast Salad not jive with your morning coffee? Tell us in the comments below!
Written by: Leslie Stephens
Popular on Food52
13 Comments
If you look at the list of breakfast dishes that Leslie posted, they lean heavily to carbs and protein. Veggie protein also works well.
A traditional Japanese breakfast would be rice, natto, miso soup, and perhaps a small piece of fish and some veggies. In Mexico, beans, rice, tortillas, maybe an egg (huevos rancheros anyone?).
Salads are great, but I will point out that they are a fairly recent culinary invention relative to human history.
You are better off emphasizing carbs and proteins for your morning meal, not salad.
It's okay to have a sweet breakfast as an occasional treat, but they simply aren't the healthier way to start your day. If you want to add something sweet to your breakfast, enjoy some fresh whole fruit instead of juices or refined sugars.
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