Weekend breakfast – blueberry banana French toast with maple syrup

This gorgeous sandwich style French toast is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe from a cookbook I have, Jamie’s Dinners.  If you decide to make it, I would use less thick bread than is in my photos (it made for a massive breakfast, more than I would usually have), but then I only had pre sliced, oldish defrosted bread around anyway, and that’s what French toast is about; easy, ingredients-you-already-have, rustic, luxurious, dessert style breakfast crammed with sweet fruit, creamy yoghurt piled on top and a heap of maple syrup.

I say based on only because I did change a few things; the main one being that I only dip the side of the bread which is going to be fried.  Given this is a sandwich style French toast, the thought of eating the uncooked egg in the middle made my mind go to a dark place (don’t mind me, obviously I love food yet can be notoriously neurotic about certain things, raw egg being one of them).  Spaghetti Carbonara and I are not friends, let’s just say.

Anyway, moving on, this was just delightful.

Recipe:

4 medium sliced bread slices, buttered on one side only (think Vienna style bread or similar)
2 eggs
Milk
1/4 tspn cinnamon
2 x 15ml tblspns raw caster sugar
200g fresh blueberries (you can use frozen, just let them defrost and pat with a paper towel before using)
1 large banana, peeled
Agave nectar
Butter or cooking margarine
Greek yoghurt (I used a honey flavoured one) to serve
Maple syrup to serve

Whisk the eggs and a small splash of milk with a fork until just combined – add cinnamon and sugar and whisk further.  Pour into a shallow sided dish, just big enough to fit the bread pieces.

Mash the banana roughly into a medium sized bowl.  Add the blueberries and just enough agave nectar to taste (I used a couple of teaspoons) and stir briefly to combine.

Add a tablespoon or so of butter to a pan and preheat on highish heat.

Place the unbuttered sides of the bread into the egg mixture – press bread slices down so they catch some sugar, which tends to fall to the bottom of the mixture.  Let the excess drip off and place onto a plate, add some fruit mixture to the buttered side of the bread, place another piece of bread over the top, eggy side on the outside.  Repeat with the other 2 slices of bread.  You will have some fruit mixture and egg mixture left over.

Add the sandwiches to the pan – turn the heat down to medium high or medium, depending on the size of your hotplate.  Add the rest of the left over fruit mixture to the pan, and an extra slice of bread which has been dipped in the left over egg mixture if you like.  Press the sandwiches down slightly with an egg flip.

Fry until bread is golden brown on the bottom and the middle has just warmed through (it won’t get really hot); this took me around 5 minutes or so each side.  Turn over and repeat with the other side.

Remove onto plates; add a generous dollop of Greek yoghurt on top, the extra cooked fruit mixture and some maple syrup drizzled over.

Alternative recipe:  If you prefer a crunchier French toast, you could dip both sides of each piece of bread in the egg mixture; fry one side; flip it over; pile the fruit mixture on the cooked side and place the other piece of bread over it sandwich style; then saute each uncooked side of the bread.

Serves: 2 hungry people with a fondness for sweets

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