French toast can be whatever you want it to be: a lazy pancake, a sugar delivery device, even an open-faced grilled cheese. Until I found a recipe online a few years ago, I hadn't considered that it could also be savory , while remaining pleasantly sweet. Add the right kind of cheese, some spices that complement cinnamon, and maybe some greens, and you're there. Everyone I've introduced this to has liked it, although I usually go light on the greens if they're not adventurous eaters.
In the spirit of French toast's infinite flexibility, here's a choose your own adventure recipe that you can customize to your mood or the picky eaters in your life. The quantities are based on one serving with two slices of bread, so don't forget to multiply them to feed your audience, but don't worry too much about exact measurements and proportions. You can vibe it out!
The Base
- 2 slices of bread. Sourdough is a nice balance of lighter taste and firmer texture, the better for frying and withstanding multiple toppings. Try both normal and thick-cut bread!
- 1 egg. (I have no experience with vegan substitutes.)
- 1-2 tablespoons of your favorite milk: 2%, skim, soy, you name it.
Find a wide but shallow bowl, square Tupperware, or small pan to hold the batter and dip your bread. In there, beat the egg mostly smooth with a fork, then stir while slowly adding milk until it's the thickness you want. Just don't add so much that it's watery. Don't dip the bread until just before frying!
If you skip from here to Frying, you'll have a basic but plain French toast. But that's not why you're here, so continue to Seasonings.
Seasonings
This is where we start to deviate from the usual flavor profile. If you're familiar with Indian cooking spices, experiment here with a few of the "sweeter" ones (like turmeric and ginger), while avoiding the "earthier" or more pungent ones (like cumin or garlic). My personal rule is that it's not French toast without cinnamon, so I raid my spice rack for bottles that smell like they'd go good with that, and start really light if I haven't tried them with this before. It's surprisingly easy to achieve a warm and balanced flavor.
Pick a few of the following:
But how much do you use? I shake a thin layer of each ingredient across the top of the batter. How thin? With bright-colored spices, like turmeric or paprika, you'll notice you only need a tiny bit to achieve a visible layer. Like that. Once everything is added, swirl gently with a fork.
No matter how much you mix the seasonings, most of them will float to the top and attach themselves to the first couple slices of bread. If you're making multiple servings, I recommend repeating this step in between batches.
If you think you added too much, just make more of The Base. Otherwise you're ready to start Frying!
Frying
- A little olive oil, butter, or bacon grease. (Bacon is a great side dish for this.)
Find a frying pan that will fit two slices of bread and put it on low-medium heat. A thick-bottom pan is nice for French toast because it won't cool immediately when the batter hits it, but a thin pan isn't the end of the world. The important thing is to resist the temptation to crank up the heat, because it's easy to get burnt toast with gooey insides, or to burn the butter or bacon grease.
Once the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on it, add just enough oil or grease to coat it, spreading with a spatula if needed. Now it's time to batter your bread before the oil burns! Drop the first slice flat into the batter and press down gently. Flip it over and move it around with your fingers a little to make sure the seasonings evenly coat both sides. Then drop it into the frying pan. Stir the batter to evenly redistribute the seasonings, then batter the second slice.
After about a minute, use the spatula to lift up the bread to check it. If it's golden-brown, flip it over. If you flip it but realize it's under-done, don't worry, you can flip it back again once it's cooked on the second side.
While the second side is cooking, get your Toppings ready. Or if you're making more, re-up your Seasonings, which have probably all stuck to the first round of bread, even if there's still plenty of batter. Also remember to re-oil/re-grease the pan as needed.
Toppings
Cheese is what makes this recipe; you've got to have it. The cheeses above will go with just about any seasonings or other toppings in this recipe. I bet
blue or
goat cheese would also be delicious; I've seen a recipe with
cheddar cheese; but I don't think
Kraft singles are a good idea. No matter what you choose, add the cheese a little before the second side of the bread is done, so it has time to melt.
Optional; check with your audience on this one, especially whether they'd like fresh or wilted greens. You can wilt a small batch of greens really quickly on the same pan as the bread; turn them over a few times with a fork until evenly soft, then add on top of the cheese.
Because it's still French toast in the end. Drizzle on top of the cheese and/or greens; if it's real maple syrup, a little goes a long way.
There you have it! If you try a couple new ingredients at a time, you can change how you think about French toast, impress your friends with how sophisticated you are, and disguise a treat as something approximating health food. Tweaking this recipe might also help you develop a sense of complementary flavors and how to think about "base" versus "add-on" ingredients, which will help you wing it on other recipes. Now go forth and brunch! The end.
--Just a little too late for Iron Noder XVIII