Brunch

Seafood might not instantly come to mind when we think about the first meal of the day, but a number of classic breakfast dishes around the world contain seafood …

Smoked fish most commonly features in breakfast dishes, from British kippers and kedgeree to smoked salmon in eggs Benedict, on cream cheese bagels or folded through scrambled eggs. Sardines are served on toast for a typical Spanish desayuno and the Chinese eat fish congee in the morning, while Scots devour fried oatmeal-crumbed trout. Shrimp and grits is a common way to start the day in the south of the USA, in North Africa brik pastry is folded around eggs and tuna for breakfast and rollmops and other pickled fish appear on Scandinavian breakfast tables.

Eggs, that classic breakfast ingredient, marry so well with seafood: smoked trout and crabmeat make tasty fillings for omelettes and frittatas, tiny prawns mixed through mayonnaise form a delicious filling for Spanish stuffed eggs (huevos rellenos) and seafood makes a delicious filling for thin crepes.

The options expand even further if we start to talk about a long leisurely mid-morning brunch - an excellent way to entertain family and friends. Bloody Mary oyster shooters get things off to a fresh start and platters of gravlax or smoked salmon with crisp croutons and herb-flecked crème fraiche are ideal assemble-it-yourself dishes. In fact, once we’ve reached brunch there’s a whole world of seafood salads that can also join the repertoire.