Ultimate Big Fat French Toast
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Serves 2-3
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15 mins
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Very Easy
Ingredients
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A mixture of chopped tender vegetables such as;
1/2 red onion, fine sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed & chopped
½ medium courgette, diced 1cm cubes
Large handful of nasturtium leaves, or substitute fresh chard or spinach leaves
2 tbsp of fresh or frozen peas
1 med carrot, peeled & grated
1 or 2 green chillies, finely sliced -
2 or 3 leftover chapatti or flatbreads, or any leftover bread roughly torn or shredded
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To make the batter (or use 4 free-range eggs):
3 heaped tbsp. gram flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
450ml water
Large pinch of black salt (or use any) -
2 tbsp olive oil
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1/2 tsp rock salt & white pepper for seasoning
Ultimate Big Fat French Toast
Print
-
Serves 2-3
-
15 mins
-
Very Easy
-
A mixture of chopped tender vegetables such as;
1/2 red onion, fine sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed & chopped
½ medium courgette, diced 1cm cubes
Large handful of nasturtium leaves, or substitute fresh chard or spinach leaves
2 tbsp of fresh or frozen peas
1 med carrot, peeled & grated
1 or 2 green chillies, finely sliced -
2 or 3 leftover chapatti or flatbreads, or any leftover bread roughly torn or shredded
-
To make the batter (or use 4 free-range eggs):
3 heaped tbsp. gram flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
450ml water
Large pinch of black salt (or use any) -
2 tbsp olive oil
-
1/2 tsp rock salt & white pepper for seasoning
I made this for breakfast one morning while we were camping in Italy. The leftovers made a perfect portable snack for our adventure walk in the Abruzzo mountains that day (and saved us from despair when it all went a bit too Bear Grylls & we got lost in a gorge). I made our first version with some leftover farro flatbreads and some garden vegetables from the campsite we were staying at. A dream of a place we thought we'd found nirvana. It’s actually called Kokopeli. I digress.
This started out as an ultimate French toast. But gram flour is such a brilliant alternative to using eggs. When you mix it into a batter, you can make cheela pancakes, fillings for quiche and even a vegan version of French toast. But then I’ve always felt that the bread needed to take up more of the batter. Turns out shredding the bread is the way forward and is a bit like a Spanish tortilla omelette with its potato layering. Definitely much faster to shred a chapatti or two. So call it what you will. Vegan French toast or breaded tortilla pancake, or whatever. It simply tastes so damn good.
My garden is currently filled with courgette flowers and nasturtium leaves (both are great in tempura batter of course), so I added both to this recipe. You can add whatever tender vegetables you prefer, like peppers, sweetcorn or cherry tomatoes. A leafy green of any kind works well here too. I’ve spiced mine up with green chilli and a bit of turmeric, but you could substitute any fresh herbs such as parsley or basil, or just a pinch of dried herbs.
Method
Make the batter first by whisking together the gram flour with the baking powder, water, salt and turmeric powder, if using.
Saute the courgette with olive oil in a medium sized frying pan on high heat, for a few minutes until browning slightly. Then add the onion, garlic and chilli, if using. Fry gently for 6-7 minutes on high heat, then add the carrots, and peas, stir well and set aside.
Mix the shredded bread into the seasoned batter then pour the mixture into the frying pan with the veg, making a big thick spanish tortilla-style omelette.
Fry gently for 8-10 minutes on each side, turning over carefully. If I’m making a few, I slide them onto a baking tray when they are almost cooked, and place in 180C oven for 10-15 minutes until cooked through and then they are all ready at once. Serve with lemon wedges and some fresh tomatoes if you like.
I made this for breakfast one morning while we were camping in Italy. The leftovers made a perfect portable snack for our adventure walk in the Abruzzo mountains that day (and saved us from despair when it all went a bit too Bear Grylls & we got lost in a gorge). I made our first version with some leftover farro flatbreads and some garden vegetables from the campsite we were staying at. A dream of a place we thought we'd found nirvana. It’s actually called Kokopeli. I digress.
This started out as an ultimate French toast. But gram flour is such a brilliant alternative to using eggs. When you mix it into a batter, you can make cheela pancakes, fillings for quiche and even a vegan version of French toast. But then I’ve always felt that the bread needed to take up more of the batter. Turns out shredding the bread is the way forward and is a bit like a Spanish tortilla omelette with its potato layering. Definitely much faster to shred a chapatti or two. So call it what you will. Vegan French toast or breaded tortilla pancake, or whatever. It simply tastes so damn good.
My garden is currently filled with courgette flowers and nasturtium leaves (both are great in tempura batter of course), so I added both to this recipe. You can add whatever tender vegetables you prefer, like peppers, sweetcorn or cherry tomatoes. A leafy green of any kind works well here too. I’ve spiced mine up with green chilli and a bit of turmeric, but you could substitute any fresh herbs such as parsley or basil, or just a pinch of dried herbs.
Method
Make the batter first by whisking together the gram flour with the baking powder, water, salt and turmeric powder, if using.
Saute the courgette with olive oil in a medium sized frying pan on high heat, for a few minutes until browning slightly. Then add the onion, garlic and chilli, if using. Fry gently for 6-7 minutes on high heat, then add the carrots, and peas, stir well and set aside.
Mix the shredded bread into the seasoned batter then pour the mixture into the frying pan with the veg, making a big thick spanish tortilla-style omelette.
Fry gently for 8-10 minutes on each side, turning over carefully. If I’m making a few, I slide them onto a baking tray when they are almost cooked, and place in 180C oven for 10-15 minutes until cooked through and then they are all ready at once. Serve with lemon wedges and some fresh tomatoes if you like.
