italian brunch ideas

Italians, in general, are pretty strict when it comes to meal times. There is Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and very little snacking in between (Gelato being a very important exception). That said, the rigid hours that restaurants usually keep have changed slightly in the last 10 years or so. Not only have the ever increasing amounts of tourists in most major cities forced restaurant owners to re-think and extend the whole idea of ‘meal time’, but even Italians are enjoying a bit more leeway when it comes to dining.

One of the newish ‘meals’ in Italy is aperi-cena, which turns a before dinner drink into more of a real meal, with bar buffets full of enough finger food to see you through the evening. Another meal that has made its way into Italian culture is Brunch. Although I hope when you are reading this you are pronouncing it the Italian way, with  a long rolling ‘r’. Brrrrrrunch.

While more and more restaurants are offering ‘brrrrrunch’, I’ve come to realize that it is a far cry from the breakfast-leaning American brunch. Instead it is a buffet that runs from about noon (early for Italians to eat lunch) until about 3 or so. It’s a very relaxed affair, with a fixed price that makes it attractive for whole families to head out on a Sunday morning. But rarely does it have any true breakfast items. No eggs except for maybe a frittata. You’re more likely to see a pasta or rice salad, as well as tons of cakes.

When I decide to have brunch at our home it’s halfway between the new Italian meal,  and American version I grew up with. There are definitely no bagels. (I wish there were, but Italy just hasn’t adopted this yet). Instead, I pick and choose from recipes I make all the time, but that can be breakfasty enough for me, while not completely throwing Italian tradition to the wind.

Although Italians never eat eggs for breakfast, I make sure I include them. While I often just whip on a big frittata, I’m very partial to its lighter version, the Fazoletto. It’s not only prettier, I also like the fact that it has lots of seasonal herbs and vegetables. And if I’m feeling even more adventurous I might work eggs AND bacan (i.e. pancetta) into a spinach salad. That’s brunchy, right?

Since I tend to make brunch in the winter, and since the fruit situation isn’t that great, I jazz up banana, apple and pear filled fruit salad with copious amounts of ginger. Whenever I add ginger to a fruit salad guests tend to forget it’s the healthy part of the meal, and dig in for seconds before completely losing themselves in the cake portion of the meal.

Because there is always cake.

Basically Italians eat cake for breakfast. It’s a thing.  And since I am married to an Italian, I always include at least one breakfast cake. Either a classic ciambella or, if I’m feeling fancy, a pistacchio pound cake recipe I picked up in Positano.

So while this menu is in no way classically Italian, it does bring in Italian recipes to a meal that I for one do serve in Italy, and that you can serve anywhere you’d like. And call it anything you want to. Breakfast. Lunch. Or Brrrrrrrunch

 

Menu

Fazzoletto or Spinach Salad with Pancetta & Eggs

Ginger Fruit Salad

Pistacchio Pound Cake or Ciambella

 

What to Drink

Coffee of course. This is Italy.

If you are going to all the trouble of making brunch, and inviting guests, you better have something festive (i.e. alcoholic ) to drink. My go to brunch cocktails are:

Bye Bye Berlusconi

Farmer’s Market Cocktail

Pomegranate Cocktail

 

Want more ideas about hosting your own Italian meal at home? Order my new book: The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends (Rizzoli March 2019).

Would you like to join me for a week of meals in Italy? Join me and Sophie for a Week in Italy Food Tour to Rome, Umbria or Puglia.