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Celebrate Farmhouse Breakfast Week by tucking in to roast tomato rubbed toast.

THE ninth annual Farmhouse Breakfast Week takes centre stage later this month.

Organised by HGCA (Home-Grown Cereals Authority) to promote the variety and provenance of British breakfast foods, chefs, schools, restaurants, cafes and producers are being asked to get involved.

The special celebration takes place between Sunday, January 20, and Saturday, January 26.

It will remind people about the importance of starting the day with breakfast and more than 1,600 events are expected to take place across the country.

Dietitians and nutritionists agree that breakfast is essential for starting the day and that it can boost concentration and mental performance as well as reduce stress levels. Eating breakfast also kick-starts the metabolism and helps with weight control because it reduces cravings for mid-morning snacks.

Breakfast can also be an important source of vitamins, minerals and fibre and eating breakfast regularly may help prevent colds and flu.

New for 2008 is a recipe booklet (www.farmhousebreakfast.com) with a range of ideas for all occasions.

There is honeyed muesli crunch for when time is short, homemade waffles for a leisurely weekend brunch, quick milkshakes and an energy-rich fruity tea loaf.

Try this recipe for roast tomato rubbed toast.

WHAT DO I NEED?

This is a great start to the weekend - sweet juicy roast tomatoes squashed into warm toast to soak up all the flavour.

Preparation time: 5 minutes.

Cooking time: 15 minutes.

Serves: 4.

4 ripe vine tomatoes, halved

4 large portabello mushrooms, halved horizontally

1 tbsp vinegar

4 large eggs

75g fresh baby spinach, rinsed

1 tbsp olive oil

4-8 slices of Irish soda bread, toasted

WHAT SHOULD I DO? Preheat the oven to 200C or gas mark 6. Lightly grease a large baking sheet then place the tomato halves on the tray with the halved mushrooms. Season well and bake for 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the eggs, bring a medium pan of water to the simmer and add the vinegar. Crack the eggs and gently drop them into the water. Cook for 5-6 minutes until softly poached and transfer to a warmed plate with a slotted spoon.

Arrange the spinach onto the mushrooms, drizzle the tomatoes and spinach with the oil and cook for a further two minutes until the spinach has wilted. Squash one tomato half into each slice of toasted bread. Then sandwich the mushroom and spinach together and place on top of the tomato toast. Top with the softly poached eggs and serve with an extra roast tomato. Season and serve immediately.

* You should aim to eat a breakfast that is high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Breakfast should ideally provide between one quarter and one third of your daily calorie needs - 2,500 kcals for women and 3,000 kcals for men each day.

* Breakfast is the ideal time to include wholegrain foods - a rich source of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and dietary fibre which work together to optimise human health.

* Apart from providing us with energy breakfast can provide essential nutrients that the body needs. Research shows that essential nutrients missed at breakfast are less likely to be compensated for during the other meals of the day.

9:29am Friday 11th January 2008

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