What to eat for breakfast on Christmas Day

For those playing host to family and friends over the holidays, Julia Platt Leonard shares delicious and simple recipes for a hearty Christmas morning breakfast

An eggy breakfast casserole is a filling dish that’s easy to make

It’s sad to say but despite our increasingly hectic lives, there are still only 24 hours in the day. Wouldn’t an extra hour or two come in handy, especially as the Christmas approaches? Between shopping for presents, school concerts and parties, and the actual day itself, we need all the time we can get.

If you’re hosting Christmas then time is the best present you could receive, either that or a battalion of elves ready to do your bidding. Sadly, the latter is unlikely to happen so a suggestion on how to save some time: Christmas breakfast.

You want 1) to fill guests up (nothing like a hungry child or elderly parent to throw a spanner in the works) and 2) get them out of your hair so you can focus on the main event.

An eggy breakfast casserole is just the ticket. It’s easy to make, filling, and cooks in one pan (plus a frying pan for the sausage) so there’s not a lot of clean-up.

You could even prep the bread the night before, make the egg mixture and refrigerate, and get the spinach sorted. That way all you’ve got to do is fry the sausage and assemble.

This version has a bit of an Italian flair with Italian sausage (a mix of regular and spicy), with spinach and mozzarella cheese. You could use chorizo instead or Toulouse sausage or plain old Cumberland. For cheese, cheddar works a treat as does soft goat’s cheese.

Serve with a fruit salad on the side if you feel compelled but why bother? Everyone is too busy playing with his/her new toys to care. And remember, you’ve got a whole Christmas dinner to get sorted, so get your skates on.

Breakfast casserole with sausage, spinach & mozzarella

Serves 8

250g sourdough bread
900g Italian sausage, about 8 sausages
125g bag of fresh mozzarella (102g drained weight)
100g baby spinach
6 eggs
550ml single cream
Black pepper
Butter to grease baking dish

Preheat the oven to 325°C. Butter a 33x23cm (9x13”) rectangular baking dish. Tear the bread into pieces and place in the baking dish. Remove the sausage from the casings and cook in a frying pan over medium high heat. While the sausage is cooking, wash and spin dry the spinach.

Place the spinach on top of the bread. Tear the mozzarella into small bits and dot on top of the spinach. Drain the sausage and add the meat to the casserole dish.

Beat the eggs and add the cream. Season with black pepper. Pour over the casserole. Bake uncovered until the eggs are set, about 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot.