Mediterranean Breakfast Toast

Breakfast just got exciting again with this Mediterranean breakfast toast with seared halloumi, blistered tomatoes, garlicky kale, spicy harissa, and poached eggs. This is the meal you need to jumpstart the day.

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Recipe

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Mediterranean Breakfast Toast

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Harissa

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 Fresno chile pepper
• ¼ teaspoon coriander ground
• ¼ teaspoon cumin ground
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ lemon juiced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Roasted tomatoes

• 2 tomatoes sliced ¼ inch thick
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Remaining ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 bunch chopped kale stems removed (about 4 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 8 ounces halloumi sliced ¼-inch thick
• 8 poached eggs
• 8 slices crusty bread

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Make the harissa. Lay the bell pepper and Fresno chile pepper on a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes or until slightly charred. Remove from the oven transfer the peppers to a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the peppers steam for 10 minutes. Remove cover and carefully remove the skin and seeds.
• Combine the roasted peppers with coriander, cumin, paprika, garlic, juice of ½ a lemon, and olive oil in a blender. Puree the mixture until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, roast the tomatoes. Lay the sliced tomatoes in one even layer on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on top. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 12-15 minutes or until softened. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add chopped kale and saute until wilted, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and season with salt and pepper. Saute for another minute and add the sherry vinegar, tossing to coat. Remove from heat and keep warm.
• In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil. Add the halloumi cheese and sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook another 2 minutes or until browned.
• Assemble the toast. Spread harissa on sliced bread and top with sauteed kale, halloumi, roasted tomatoes, and poached eggs. Top with extra harissa and serve immediately.

Notes

All of the components including the spicy harissa, sauteed kale, roasted tomatoes, and seared halloumi can be prepared the day of. Poach the eggs right before serving and assemble toasts.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make harissa

To make this Mediterranean breakfast toast, first, make the harissa. The spicy harissa is the main flavor component of this breakfast since the other ingredients are fairly simple.

Sure, you can always skip this step and buy already-made harissa. But I'm a chef, so I prefer to make most things from scratch, especially because you can control the heat level and seasoning.

Roast the peppers in the oven until charred, rotating the peppers halfway through. If you like your sauces extra spicy, go ahead and throw in another Fresno chile pepper.

Once charred, place them in a bowl, covering it with plastic wrap. This allows the steam to trap in the bowl and makes it easier to remove the skin from the peppers.

Peel the skin, using a paper towel to help if necessary. Above all else, do not wash the peppers in water to remove the skin. When I was at the Culinary Institute of America, my chef would yell at anyone who would wash the peppers, saying they were washing away the flavor. And he wasn't wrong!

Discard the stems and seeds, and place the peppers in a blender with the spices, lemon, and garlic. Blend until smooth and season the harissa with salt and pepper. I like to prepare a large batch and have it on hand when I want to add a spicy kick to the dish.

You can prepare the sauce up to a week in advance. If you want to save time, you can skip this step and buy store-bought harissa instead.

Step 2: Cook toppings

Meanwhile, prepare the other components. While the peppers are roasting, go ahead and roast the tomatoes at the same time.

Slice tomatoes, season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and roast them until blistered and softened.

While the vegetables are roasting, you can also saute the kale. Heat oil in a large saute pan and add the kale. Continue to cook until the leaves soften, then add the garlic.

Finish the greens with a splash of sherry vinegar to balance the bitter flavor of the kale. Set aside the kale and keep it warm.

In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil and lay the halloumi in an even layer. If you've never tasted halloumi before, you're in for a treat. It's a great alternative to meat because of its heartiness.

Step 3: Assemble toasts

We're now almost at the finish line. Poach eggs until your desired degree of doneness and toast several slices of great quality bread. You can also fry eggs or scramble them if you prefer.

Spread the toasted bread with harissa and top with sauteed garlic kale, roasted tomatoes, seared halloumi, and poached eggs. Drizzle extra spicy harissa on top and serve the Mediterranean breakfast toast.

Using simple ingredients allows every ingredient to shine without overpowering the halloumi. The perfectly poached eggs with runny yolks add creaminess, while the harissa adds a beautiful kick. Now, this is what I call one glorious breakfast!

For more delicious recipes featuring halloumi, check out this strawberry avocado salad with halloumi, cherry tomato confit pasta salad, and sweet potato lentil halloumi curry!

Make-ahead and storage:

• Make-ahead: Make the harissa up to 1 week in advance. You can also cook the kale and roast the tomatoes the day before. Because of halloumi's texture, it's best to cook the cheese right before assembling the toast.
• Store: Keep leftover assembled toasts in an airtight container for 1 day. If the toasts aren't assembled, keep all of the components in separate containers.

More breakfast toast recipes

Looking for more savory toast ideas? Try these: