French Toast with Poached Plums
Contributed by: News Canada
California Tree Fruit Breakfast (NC) - French
toast, called pain perdu or lost bread in France, is made from the previous day's leftover bre!d.
The French buy fresh bread every day, sometimes twice a day, and since there are no
preservatives in it, it soon becomes stale - and a good candidate for French toast. A topping of
sweet poached plums dresses up the humble dish and makes it worthy of a special breakfast
occasion. To make a delicious sweet and salty combination, serve this with sausages.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup plums, any variety, pitted and sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water or milk
- 4 1/2-inch thick slices of bread
- 3 tablespoons butter
- confectioner's sugar
Directions:
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and the water over median heat and bring to a boil, stirring until
the sugar dissolves. Cook until a thin syrup forms, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the plums and continue to
cook, stirring often, until the plums soften, another 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove
from the heat, cover to keep warm, and set aside.
In a shallow baking dish, combine the eggs and water or milk and beat them lightly. Add the
bread in a single layer, soaking the first side 1 to 2 minutes, then turning and soaking the other
side.
In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat until it foams. Add the bread and cook
until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn with a spatula and cook the other side until golden, another 3 to
4 minutes.
Put one piece of the bread on each of 4 plates. Over each, spoon some of the warm plums and
their sauce and sprinkle with a little confectioner's sugar. Serve immediately.
Serving Size: Serves 4
