Breakfast

Spain

Bocadillo de calamares is one of the best-known bocadillo sandwiches in Spain, and a most beloved bar snack staple in the country&rsquo;s capital, Madrid. It typically consists of a crusty Spanish-style baguette called barra de pan, which has been sliced in half lengthwise and stuffed with fresh and crunchy fried calamari rings. The calamari are usually dipped in flour and fried in olive oil, while the sandwich&rsquo;s filling may be enhanced with a touch of olive oil or alioli (garlic mayonnaise) or a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. This simple sandwich makes for a filling breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a mid-afternoon snack, and it is traditionally washed down with a small glass of ice-cold draft beer known as a ca&ntilde;a in Spanish. In Madrid, where calamari sandwiches can be found at any corner, people usually enjoy this sandwich on the spot, standing in the bar where they bought it, or for a more pleasurable experience, they often eat it al fresco while sitting on one of the benches on the Plaza Mayor.

Bocadillo de calamares

Bocadillo de chistorra is a Spanish sandwich that consists of a sliced bread loaf filled with chistorra, a Spanish fast-cured pork sausage. This sandwich is typically made with a Spanish-style baguette (barra de pan), while some versions use ciabatta or Vienna bread instead of the baguette. These sausages can be grilled, fried, or baked, and the sandwich&rsquo;s filling is often enhanced with other ingredients such as crispy fried onions, slices of cheese (usually Idiaz&aacute;bal cheese), ham, and poached eggs. Once assembled, the sandwich is sometimes baked in the oven for a crispier finish, if desired. This bocadillo variety is typically enjoyed for breakfast or as an afternoon snack (merienda), although it can also be consumed for lunch or dinner.

Bocadillo de chistorra

Bocadillo or bocata de huevos revueltos is a simple Spanish sandwich that&rsquo;s made with Spanish bread and scrambled eggs. Typically, a Spanish-style baguette (barra de pan) is sliced lengthwise and filled with a layer of freshly scrambled eggs. This bocadillo sandwich variety is often enhanced with a few slices of crispy bacon, while the bread may (sometimes) get toasted directly in the bacon drippings for added flavor and crispiness. Some versions also call for the addition of cheese and spinach leaves to the sandwich&rsquo;s filling. The sandwich makes for an excellent, filling snack, although it can also be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Bocadillo de huevos revueltos

Bocadillo de queso is a Spanish sandwich that consists of Spanish bread and slices of cheese. Due to the simplicity of the sandwich, both the bread and the cheese used for the preparation of this bocadillo variety must be of excellent quality. The most common choice for bread is a Spanish-style baguette called barra de pan, while the selection of cheese includes various types of cheese such as Manchego cheese, queso fresco (fresh cheese), queso de cabra (goat cheese), Edam cheese, and blue cheese. The bread is usually cut in half lengthwise, and it is often moistened with a drizzle of olive oil or rubbed with ripe tomato halves on the inside. Lettuce or rocket leaves, tomato slices, strips of roasted peppers, and slices of ham are some of the optional ingredients that may be added to the sandwich&rsquo;s filling for added flavor and a more filling dish. Just like other bocadillo sandwiches, cheese bocadillos can be eaten as a filling snack at any time of the day or as a light meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Bocadillo de queso

B&ograve; kho is a popular Vietnamese beef stew that can be consumed on its own or accompanied by a baguette on the side. It can also be served over noodles, and it is customary to serve a variety fresh herbs on the side. The dish includes ingredients such as diced beef, carrots, lemongrass, cinnamon, chili, pepper, garlic, and shallots, all of them simmered in a spicy and aromatic broth. The origins of b&ograve; kho are still a mystery, although it is believed that the dish has many influences, from both the East and the West. In rural areas of Vietnam, the stew is usually much spicier than in urban areas. It is traditionally consumed for breakfast, garnished with chopped green onions, coriander, and onions.

Bò kho

A staple in almost every Portuguese bakery, bolo de arroz is a light and airy rice cake characterized by its mild sweetness and a refreshing lemon flavor. Similar in shape to cupcakes or muffins, the cakes are usually made with a combination of rice and wheat flour, butter, milk, and eggs. A sprinkle of sugar before baking gives them a golden, caramelized crust. They can be enjoyed as a sweet breakfast or a light afternoon snack which perfectly pairs with milk, coffee, or tea.

Bolo de arroz

Bol&oacute;n de verde is a dish of green plantain fritters that are typically filled with cheese, chicharr&oacute;nes, or chorizo. It is a traditional and national Ecuadorian dish that&rsquo;s usually eaten for breakfast. The name translates to big green ball since the main ingredient is green plantains. The preparation starts with cooking or frying the plantains, which are then mashed, seasoned, mixed with the filling, and shaped into balls. They are usually then fried once again to make them crispy. The fritters should be eaten while still hot or warm and are usually served with a fried egg and coffee.

Bolón de verde

Vietnam

B&ograve; n&eacute; is a traditional dish that's especially popular in Nha Trang. It's made with cuts of beef such as skirt steak that's marinated in spices and comes served on a sizzling hot cast iron plate with fried eggs, onions, chili sauce, and a dollop of pate. The dish is usually accompanied by condiments and a baguette, along with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and cucumber. The meat is often dipped into a combination of pepper sauce, lime juice, and salt, while the baguette is used to pick up the remains of pate and egg yolks off the plate. Vietnamese steak and eggs are traditionally served for breakfast.

Bò né

Borbor is a popular Cambodian street food item that is essentially a porridge made with rice, broth, bean sprouts, green onions, shallots, fish sauce, and various herbs. Depending on the preparation, small pieces of chicken, pork or other meat can be added. Originally developed from the Chinese congee, over the years, borbor has become a staple breakfast dish in Cambodia, prepared in numerous regional varieties throughout the country.

Borbor

B&ouml;rek is a baked dish consisting of a savory or sweet filling wrapped in yufka - thinly stretched sheets of dough made with flour, water, and salt. Heartier than phyllo, but thinner than a tortilla, hand-made yufka is typically brushed with butter before baking. Although many countries have their own versions of this satisfying dish, it was probably invented during the Ottoman Empire in the Anatolian Provinces, an area that nowadays belongs to Turkey. Some sources suggest that b&ouml;rek might be even older, a descendant of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Anatolian dish known as en tyritas plakountas, consisting of layered dough filled with cheese, its recipe dating back to 160 BC. Nowadays, Turkey is famous for its layered pies and pastries, all united under the name b&ouml;rek (also burek, byurek, byrek, b&ouml;regi). Regardless of many b&ouml;rek varieties, yufka always remains the same, and almost everything wrapped in it may be called b&ouml;rek, which could also explain the name: some suggest that it comes from the Turkish word bur, meaning to twist. In Turkey, there are many regional variations of b&ouml;rek, and the names usually contain a descriptive word referring to the shape, ingredients, cooking method, or a region where the specific variety of b&ouml;rek comes from. For example, su b&ouml;reği or water b&ouml;rek is made with boiled sheets of dough which are buttered and filled with a mixture of feta cheese and parsley (an alternative recipe suggests minced meat and onions), then baked. Kalem b&ouml;regi or pen b&ouml;rek is a thin, cigarette-shaped variety that is often served in restaurants as an appetizer. Due to their shape, they were originally called sigara b&ouml;reği, but in 2011, Turkish pastry chefs started calling them kalem to avoid the connections with smoking. They are usually filled with feta cheese, potatoes, and parsley, but can also be enriched with minced meat or sausages, and vegetables such as spinach, nettles, leeks, and courgettes. Pa&ccedil;anga b&ouml;reği is a deep-fried variety from Istanbul, filled with pastırma or kaşar and chopped green peppers. Saray b&ouml;reği or palace b&ouml;rek is a truly decadent version made with fresh butter rolled between each sheet of dough, while kol b&ouml;reği or arm b&ouml;rek is the classic variety prepared at home - shaped in long rolls, either rounded or lined, it is usually filled with minced meat, feta cheese, spinach, or potatoes (it's smaller and fattier variety is called sarıyer b&ouml;reği, named after Sarıyer, a district of Istanbul where it is traditionally prepared). The most beautiful variety might be g&uuml;l b&ouml;reği or rose b&ouml;rek, arranged in a spiral that resembles a rose filled with various fillings which are often spicy in flavor. &Ccedil;iğ b&ouml;rek or raw b&ouml;rek is a half-moon-shaped variety filled with raw minced meat and fried in oil. On the other hand, there is also t&ouml;b&ouml;rek - a similar variety which is baked instead of fried. However, b&ouml;rek doesn't have to be savory - a sweet variety called laz b&ouml;reği is prepared in the Rize region. It is filled with muhallebi (a local spin on custard) and served generously dusted with powdered sugar. Another sweet variety is called k&uuml;rt b&ouml;reği, also known as sade, meaning plain b&ouml;rek, referring to the fact that it has no filling at all, just a generous layer of powdered sugar on top. Seeing all these varieties, it is clear that b&ouml;rek may be one of the most significant dishes of the Turkish cuisine &ndash; it surely is one of the oldest and most traditional ones.

Börek

Greece

Bougatsa is a traditional, rustic Greek pie consisting of a phyllo pastry layered with a filling of semolina custard, although there are variations with minced meat or cheese. The name of the dish is a derivation of the Ottoman word pogatsa, denoting a pie filled with cheese. Bougatsa has origins from the Byzantine period, when Constantinople was Greek, and it began as a dough that was stuffed with numerous sweet and savory fillings. Over time, bougatsa evolved to incorporate a thinly rolled, hand-made phyllo pastry. As many Turkish immigrants settled in Northen Greece, bougatsa became a specialty of Serres and Thessaloniki. Today, the pies can be found throughout Greece in specialty shops called bougatsopolia, selling bougatsas exclusively.

Bougatsa

Ireland

Boxty is a simple Irish potato pancake that is often associated with the northern Midlands region and county Leitrim. The potatoes are finely grated and combined with buttermilk, flour, and eggs, and the whole concoction is then cooked like a regular pancake. In the past, boxty was usually consumed on its own, but today it is served like a tortilla, filled with a variety of meat and vegetables.

Boxty

Boyoz is a Turkish pastry that was brought over to the country by Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Spain in the late 15th century. Nowadays, it is prepared exclusively in Izmir, following the original recipe. The pastry is made with flour, sunflower oil, and tahini. Tahini increases the nutrient value of boyoz, but it also makes the dough rise in layers. Boyoz is additionally filled with ingredients such as cheese, meat, olives, artichokes, or spinach. Traditionally, this flavorful pastry is served as an essential part of breakfast, when it is accompanied by hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with black pepper and a glass of Turkish tea.

Boyoz

France

Brasill&eacute; is a traditional pastry made with flaky, buttery puff pastry, lightly salted butter, sugar, and eggs. Puff pastry is rolled out and buttered, then shaped into its characteristic oval shape before it is brushed with beaten eggs, sprinkled with sugar, and baked until puffed and golden on top. This French specialty used to be prepared out of simple bread dough and lard, but it was later re-invented by a French baker called Emilie Roussel, who replaced lard with butter and added sugar to the combination. Brasill&eacute; earned its name from the French word brasier, meaning a pan of hot coals or embers, referring to the method of baking the pastry in an oven of hot coals that gave the original pastry a slightly burnt top. Although it is typically only topped with sugar, some versions call for enhancing the pastry with a filling of apples, pears, or chocolate. This buttery pastry is typically enjoyed warm or slightly chilled as a dessert that can be served for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Brasillé

United States

Breakfast burrito is a unique variety of a burrito, consisting of a tortilla stuffed with ingredients that are usually a breakfast staple such as eggs, bacon, and potatoes. It was invented in 1975 in Tia Sophia, a caf&eacute; in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The breakfast burrito craze started to catch on and soon found its way into mainstream fast-food establishments such as McDonald's and Taco Bell. Although eggs, bacon, and potatoes are the key ingredients, there are no set rules on what constitutes a great breakfast burrito, so it can also be filled with other ingredients such as tomatoes, cheese, ham, spinach, and beans. Apart from numerous fast food restaurants and diners, breakfast burrito can also be bought on street stalls, as it is an important part of the street food culture.

Breakfast Burrito

The breakfast sandwich is the American morning handheld: a fried or folded egg, a slice of melting cheese and a cooked meat, usually bacon, sausage or ham, pressed into a roll, bagel, English muffin or biscuit and eaten on the way to work. Its reference form is the New York deli bacon-egg-and-cheese on a kaiser roll, ordered with "salt, pepper, ketchup" and wrapped in foil, and its mass-market form is the Egg McMuffin that McDonald's introduced in 1972, a round egg cooked in a ring on a toasted English muffin with Canadian bacon and American cheese. The sausage-egg-and-cheese biscuit of the American South is a third branch, built on a tall buttermilk biscuit instead of bread. Since the 2010s a bakery and café version has grown up around it, with brioche buns, thick-cut bacon, aged cheddar and hot sauce, and the price has grown with it.

The egg decides the sandwich. The deli version is fried hard or scrambled on a flat-top and folded to the size of the roll so it does not spill; the drive-through version is cooked in a ring so it stays round and yolk-intact; the café version is often a soft-scrambled or sunny-side egg with a runny yolk, which eats better but travels badly. Cheese goes on the egg while it is still on the griddle so it melts from below, and the meat is cooked separately and set on top. The bread is toasted or griddled in butter or bacon fat, and the whole thing is assembled hot and pressed for a few seconds so it holds together. The ratio matters: one egg, one slice of cheese and two or three slices of bacon to a roll of about ten centimetres, with the bread thin enough that the fillings are more than half the bite.

Pick it up and judge it in the hand before you bite: it should be warm all the way through, hold together without a wrapper, and show the cheese melted into the egg rather than sitting on it as a cold square. The egg should be seasoned and not rubbery, the bacon crisp or the sausage browned, and the bread soft inside with a toasted face against the fillings. Mark down an egg that is a dry, grey disc or a wet unseasoned pile, unmelted cheese, bread that is cold or has gone soggy under a steaming egg, a roll so thick the fillings vanish, meat that is pale and limp, and any sandwich that has been held under a lamp, which shows as a sweating foil wrapper and a gummy bun. Hash browns tucked inside are a legitimate New York variant and not a fault; a sandwich that needs a knife is.

Breakfast Sandwich

This Lone Star culinary treasure is quite simple &ndash; a tortilla stuffed with traditional breakfast ingredients, depending on personal preferences: processed yellow cheese, pork, and eggs are just some of the most common ingredients used in the preparation of breakfast tacos. However, there is a huge food fight regarding this taco variety, with Austin and San Antonio both claiming the dish as their own. It is speculated that breakfast tacos were a staple in San Antonio a long time ago, but locals used to simply call it breakfast, while Austin had given the dish its current name. With a dish so simple and delicious, shouldn&rsquo;t we agree that breakfast tacos are simply and truly Texan?

Breakfast Tacos

Italy

Brioche col tuppo is an Italian version of a brioche hailing from Sicily. It is characterized by its rounded top bun, called tuppo, which also gives this brioche its name. The tuppo should be removed and eaten first. The brioche is made with milk, yeast, flour, salt, sugar, eggs, butter, and honey. It can also be enriched with orange or lemon rind, saffron, or apples. This Sicilian treat is not eaten on its own &ndash; the brioche should be accompanied by granita, available in flavors such as lemon, pistachio, strawberry, etc. Another way of eating brioche col tuppo is to split it in half and fill it with gelato.

Brioche col tuppo

Brioche con gelato is a traditional dessert hailing from Sicily. This dessert sandwich consists of a soft, buttery brioche bun that's stuffed with a generous amount of gelato. It's especially popular during the hot summer months, and it's sometimes even eaten for breakfast. If desired, finish it with a sprinkled of chopped nuts and a pinch of powdered sugar for extra flavor.

Brioche con gelato

Austria

Bruckfleisch is a traditional pub meal that is most often served for breakfast, made by braising offal with root vegetables in a brown sauce consisting of vinegar, wine, and blood. The prepared dish is served with bread or bread dumplings and it is recommended to pair it with a glass of beer.