KaoutarThe alarm clock rings, it’s time to get up (with your right foot, preferably)! Hop, no time to waste, a little shower before setting foot under the table for the morning breakfast ritual. And while you still snore a little, the tip of your nose dipping in your coffee, do you even imagine what one takes in other countries before attacking the day?
Here is an overview of typical breakfasts that are served in Mediterranean countries:
Spain
Spain is known for its culinary diversity, including at breakfast. The classic breakfast consists of a coffee with milk, orange juice, and a slice of olive oil with tomato pulp. You can also add a little Serrano ham or eat a good potato tortilla. How about a sweet version? Try the soba’s, a typical pastry or the famous churros dipped in thick hot chocolate.
In Spain, we start the day with a squeezed Zumo de Naranja (orange juice) and/or a café con Leche (with milk) accompanied by toast or a pastry. Few of the locals have a big breakfast before heading to work.
The custom is to eat later, around 10 am, to be able to last until lunchtime… ie 2 pm! During the morning break, the Spaniards meet at the local bar to taste some tapas or pintxos (a piece of bread covered with different ingredients), tortilla (omelet), or pan con tomate.
Another star of Spanish tables on weekends and other holidays: the churros, famous fried donuts covered with sugar, to be dipped in chocolate (we don’t mean the translation!) And regional specialties, such as ensaimadas in the Balearic Islands.
Greece
In Greece, few people take the time to enjoy a real breakfast when they wake up. The Greeks are generally satisfied with a smoothie, a very popular drink in the country, and a traditional Greek bread, the koulouri. It is only around 10:30 am that they really indulge in their morning snack. Greek yogurt is then served, of course, but also cheese and honey sandwiches, sesame bread, or even traditional spinach and cheese puff pastry.
Kingdom of feta, Greece offers its most famous cheese for all meals, the morning included!
Some prefer to eat a quick breakfast consisting of a coffee, a cheese sandwich, and/or a koulouri (circular bread with sesame seeds), others take the time to sit down to enjoy a real meal: hard-boiled eggs, feta bread with tomatoes, and olive oil, Greek yogurt with honey and nuts, fruit … All washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice and/or Elliniko, coffee from the corner prepared in a briki, the iconic tin pan.
Other rarer dishes sometimes complete the table: spinach puff pastry, milk cakes, cheeses do you want some ( anthotiro, kaséri, gravièra, Tacchini …) sausages, strapatsada (scrambled eggs with tomato), froutalia (omelet) sausage), etc.
Italy
For breakfast, Italians like to eat a cornetto (a kind of croissant) that they can accompany with a cappuccino or a caffè (they like it very short, ristretto ). The cornetto is very different from the croissant: the texture is not the same and it is filled with cream, jam, or chocolate; sometimes it even has icing on top.
Breakfast in Italy is a sweet and enjoyable awakening routine for the body and mind. Don’t you feel like you’re in heaven when you open up your eyes in the morning, the coffee machine in the kitchen is mumbling and your house smells like coffee? Or maybe it’s not coffee but the smell of fresh-baked croissants, or freshly squeezed oranges: there are many different habits in Italy, but they all can be defined as Mediterranean breakfast or Italian Breakfast.
There are also savory breakfast lovers, they start the day with an English breakfast made with eggs, bacon, and toast, or people who love typical American sweets like muffins and pancakes. However, our made in Italy breakfasts are one of a kind and they can also become a cure-all for health if we adopt some precautions.
France
Although some of us tend to swallow a bowl of cereal in the morning, our typical breakfast consists of slices of butter or jam (on a fresh baguette, of course), accompanied by a pain au chocolat, a croissant, or a pain au raisin.
One of the high places of gastronomy takes care of its breakfast. In France, we prefer to bet on the sweet: a hot drink (tea, coffee or hot chocolate), fruit juice, the famous toast of bread (fresh, toasted, lost …) accompanied by butter or jam are the essentials for the first meal of the day.
Brioches, cereals, fruit, dairy products, and pastries complete the table. Croissant, raisin bread, apple turnover, pain au chocolat or chocolatine… Something to feast on!
Morocco
In Morocco, breakfast is a sacred meal that Moroccans like to eat on the terrace when the weather is nice (that is, most of the time). In this country with a rich and varied gastronomy, there are many different traditional recipes associated with breakfast. Most of these are quite generous, because, as is the Muslim tradition, many Moroccans wake up around 5/6 am, at the same time as the first prayer of the day.
Breakfast always includes bread, a daily staple in the Moroccan diet. These are accompanied by a variety of jams, chutneys, olive oil, or clarified butter (ghee) and cheese. Bread is often used in lieu of utensils to scoop up many varieties of food, such as egg yolks at breakfast.
Pancakes are another major Moroccan breakfast staple, and Baghir, made from semolina, is one variety with dozens of tiny holes in them. Another favorite pancake variety is Rghaif. Depending on how the dough is folded before cooking, these are sometimes called Msemen or Meloui. Pancakes are usually eaten with a honey-butter mix, or with a favorite jam, usually strawberry or apricot.
As for beverages, the famous Moroccan mint tea is the most important drink on a Moroccan breakfast table, and they absolutely love fresh orange juice, generously sweetened just like their super-sweet mint tea.
Turkey
In Turkey, breakfast, pronounced “kavalteu”, is a meal in its own right. It is a salty meal, often the most filling of the day. The word “ kahvaltı ” originates from “ kahve altı ” which means “before coffee”. The kahvaltı is accompanied by a tea, the coffee comes at the end like at home. You can divide the Turkish breakfast into 2 parts. First of all, the starters to share between the guests, which generally consist of:
A plate of tomatoes and cucumbers, a plate of cheeses, the best known of which is beyaz peynir (white cheese). It is a cheese that is similar to feta in addition to creamy and mellow, honey with cream, grilled sucuk (Turkish chorizo, without pork obviously!), Olives, and jams. Everything can be spread on freshly toasted bread. Next comes the main course made from eggs served in an individual casserole dish to keep them warm. There are 2 kinds:
- Tavada yumurta ( fried eggs), which can be eaten plain or with sucuk , or kavurma (lamb meat), and cheese.
- Menemen , which is an egg scramble with tomatoes, onions, peppers, with optional cheese and cold cuts.
