Savory French Toast

Like many of my food blogging friends, I really enjoy watching food-related television. One of my latest favorites is the show French Food at Home, hosted by Laura Calder on The Cooking Channel. Ms. Calder studied the French culinary arts under the tutelage of the wonderful Anne Willan, founder of LaVarenne Cooking School. I enjoy the show so much because it makes French food seem approachable for plain old home cooks like me. And the more I watch and learn about French food, the more I see its fundamentals in lots of our treasured Southern cuisine.

So I was watching French Food at Home a few weeks ago and saw the host make something I’d never even thought of before. A savory French toast! What a concept! And to top it off, she suggested serving it with a spoonful of Tomato Jam. Ah, ha! Now you see where the Tomato Jam in my latest post came from. Yes, I made that Tomato Jam just so I could serve it with this amazing savory French toast. And, let me tell you something – this was a delicious lunch. I served it along with a fresh salad of butter lettuce dressed very simply with a classic vinaigrette.

All I can say is – wow. You simply have to try this!

1 small day-old baguette

½ cup milk

2 eggs

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

2 generous tsp. Herbes de Provence

1 tblsp. butter

Slice the baguette on the diagonal into four thick slices.

In a shallow bowl or pan, combine the milk, eggs, salt, pepper and herbes.

Add the bread slices. Soak for about 5 minutes per side, depending on how stale the bread is. If your bread is fresher and softer, you will need to soak for less time.

While the bread is soaking on the second side, melt the butter in a frying pan until foaming but not browned. Place the soaked bread in the frying pan and cook without moving it until the first side is golden brown. Turn slices over and cook the second side until until golden brown.

Serving suggestion: Serve a spoonful of tomato jam on the side along with a simple green salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Serves 2.

Enjoy!

Recipe credit: Laura Calder (The Cooking Channel)

Download a printable copy of Savory French Toast.

Other recipes for Savory French Toast from around the Internet: