French Toast with Strawberry Compote

I have been away from food blogging world for a while now, but that doesn’t mean I was not cooking food or feeding hungry souls in my home. I have tried many local recipes and ingredients during these past days and I have to keep some records for that as well. I may update next couple of blogposts with those ingredients and recipes. But today, I will restrict myself with a delicious breakfast recipe. French toast with strawberry compote. I can’t imagine myself making this on weekdays, as morning is a hurried experience for us. Dear daughter catches her school bus early in the morning and dear husband is also almost rushing through. This scrumptious breakfast needs a relaxing Sunday morning, where one can sit, talk and enjoy the breakfast. Last Sunday made this as our breakfast, thought will share the recipe over here.

I remember a scene in Bollywood film ‘Queen’, where the main lead actress makes French toast for her roommates while holidaying in Amsterdam. And one of them being French himself tells her, well, what she has made has nothing French in it. I know where that was coming from as, French never make their French toast savoury compared to us Indian. French toast for an Indian is mostly savoury served with dollops of tomato ketchup!!  This made me all curious to know the origin of French toast and how it got its name. After many google searches, I came to know that in France it’s known as ‘’ Pain perdu’’ or ‘’Lost bread’’ which is eaten as desserts. This can be accompanied with afternoon tea or an English term for that is ‘High Tea’ snack, but is never made as breakfast. We are grateful to Roman Empire for Colosseum, Pantheon, Spanish steps and Latin language. And to countless inspiration for many Chariot races in Hollywood films ‘ Ben Hur’ for entertainment purposes. I may also like to add French toast to that list as well, as Romans had gigantic appetite for food, three course meal is very Roman. They used to make something very similar dessert with a day old bread or left-over high quality white bread. The first mention about French toast was in a 4^th century Roman cook book written in Latin by Apicius.

From those days to its present form French toast has travelled far across, crossed Atlantic Ocean as well. French Immigrants brought their French toast recipes to America and American coined its name ‘French toast’ and from there no looking back.

Now to the sweet recipe for French toast

French Toast with Strawberry compote

Recipe requirements

For French toast

4-5 whole meal bread slices

1 cup of milk

1 egg

1 tsp of cinnamon powder

2-3 tbs of sugar

Cooking oil to pan –fry toast

Method

Mix in egg, milk, cinnamon powder and sugar in a mixing bowl. Put the bread slices in the mixture and let it sit for 5-10 mints.

Put an iron skillet on flame, add about 2-3 tsp of cooking oil over hot iron skillet. Put bread slices and fry them each side for 3-4 mints at medium flame.

Take out and drain over kitchen towels.

For Strawberry compote

300 Gms of fresh strawberry

3-4 tbs of sugar

½ tsp of lemon juice

2 tsp of olive oil spread

Method

Peel the outer skin of strawberries to get rid of small seeds. Chop strawberry roughly into small pieces.

Now put strawberry and sugar in a pot and keep on cooking. After about 7-8 mints at medium flame, strawberry will start to cook .Take off from the flame when sugar dissolves properly.

Add in lemon juice and olive oil spread and mix well. Let it cool.

Assemble French toast with strawberry compote and ice cream on sides. This is heavenly delicious.

and since its Poila Baishak this weekend ....let me wish all my readers ' Shobho Poila Baishaak'

শুভ পয়লা বৈশাখ। .অনেক শুভেচ্ছা সবাইকে। ...