Spicy Breakfast Burritos

9:59am Friday 28th March 2008

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Enjoying a late brunch has to be one of the biggest treats of any weekend or break. There's something luxurious about savouring a leisurely feast, rather than grabbing toast and coffee on the run.

Chef Simon Rimmer, the host of BBC2's Something For The Weekend show, describes brunches as "the ultimate solution to the hangover from hell, a great meal for when you're entertaining someone special or have the family coming over - and so much more chilled and relaxing than throwing a dinner party."

He's such a fan that he and fellow presenter Tim Lovejoy - Rimmer taught him to cook during the TV series - have collected their top 60 recipes into a new book, Lazy Brunch (Quadrille, £14.99).

Rimmer says: "One of the best things about Something For The Weekend is how much feedback I get from people about the recipes. It seems lazy brunch is what people need on their days off - and all they need are simple recipes that motivate them to get into the kitchen to start cooking and make something to fill them up and feel good."

The book has down-to-earth practical sections, which could inspire blokes to start cooking or improve their skills. Dishes are designed to suit different occasions, like Beers with the boys', or the more intimate, Treating your girlfriend'.There are also recipes for family occasions in a section called Having the olds round for brunch'.

The programme's most successful recipe is included - scotch eggs - as well as a mouth-watering variety of others, such as American pancakes with bacon, prawn dim sum, chicken kiev or a coronation chicken salad.

Rimmer: "All the recipes are straightforward and tasty. There are no fancy techniques, just good, honest food."

Try this onewhich he calls spicy breakfast burritos And for those who are familiar with cooking, there are some new recipe ideas to try out which could dazzle diners."

So when breakfast isn't enough, but it's too early for lunch why not cook up a couple of treats?

Simon suggests his recipe for New York Smoked Salmon Hash as "the perfect Sunday Brunch - gorgeous smoked salmon with spuds and lots of other goodies - it's impossible not to have seconds", or try the spicy Breakfast Burritos.

IngredientsServes 42 red peppers, quartered, seeded4 free-range eggs4tbsp milkSalt and freshly ground black pepper1tbsp butter6 pepperdew peppers, finely choppedHandful baby spinach1tbsp olive oilSqueeze of lemon juice4 soft corn or flour tortillas75g mature cheddar, gratedJamaican Hot Pepper sauce - £1.60 for 85ml, from supermarkets or www.britishfooddirect.comMethodPreheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6. Cook the red peppers for about 15 minutes, until they have softened. Meanwhile, place the eggs and milk in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk together until combined.

In a non-stick frying pan melt the butter. When it begins to foam add the egg mixture. Without stirring, cook the eggs until they are just beginning to set. When they have set, push the egg gently towards the centre of the pan with a spatula.

Continue to do this until the egg mixture has set, then flip the mixture over and remove from the heat.

Remove the peppers from the oven and place in a polythene bag for a few minutes to soften the skins.

Place the pepperdew peppers and spinach in a bowl and mix together well with the oil, lemon juice, 1-2 tablespoons of Hot Pepper Sauce and a little salt and pepper.

Peel and chop the roasted peppers and add to the spinach mix. Warm the tortillas according to the packet instructions. Place a warmed tortilla on each plate. Line the edge of each tortilla with some cheese and top with the spinach and pepper mixture. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the eggs and roll up the tortilla tightly.

Rimmer says: "Feel free to add bacon, sausages, mushrooms or even black pudding to this - just don't forget the Hot Pepper sauce."

Top tip for making brunch: If you're serving scrambled eggs and find that they are cooking too quickly, remove the pan from the heat and move the eggs into the centre of the pan. "That way," says so that they cook from the outside in.