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Pumpkin French Toast – A Seasonal Twist on a Medieval Dish

pumpkin french toast
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Pumpkin French toast is a seasonal twist to a much loved breakfast made using slightly stale bread, adding to the nutritive value of this humble dish.

French toast doesn’t have the Gallic roots its name suggests. This preparation using stale bread, eggs, milk and sugar dates back to 4th century Rome. It finds mention by the name of Pan Dulcis in the earliest cookbook, Apicius de re Coquinaria, published in 4 A.D.

This dish from medieval times was a practical way to stretch stale bread for another day or two. The addition of eggs and milk made it softer and more palatable. The French toast later makes an appearance in a recipe in The Accomplisht Cook, a cookbook from 1660. In this recipe, toasted bread is soaked in wine, sugar and orange juice.

Apicius – the earliest cookbook
Image source: Wikipedia

Called Pain Perdu in French, it also goes by other names such as eggy bread, German toast, freedom toast and Bombay toast. In it’s simplest version, French toast employs a handful of pantry ingredients. It can be elevated to a fancy brunch dish or even dessert with the addition of decadent ingredients, such as whipped cream, salted caramel sauce, mascarpone cheese and seasonal fruits.

pumpkin french toast

 Pumpkin French Toast

Raising a toast to this dish with a fascinating history, I share with you my very simple Pumpkin French toast. In this recipe, pumpkin puree is whisked into the egg and milk mixture. The pumpkin adds a mild sweetness to the toast, as well as a pleasing light orange colour. It is also a good way to add a serving of veggies to your (or your kid’s) breakfast.
It is very easy to stock up on homemade pumpkin puree. If you end up buying a large pumpkin, turning it into puree, freeze it in the ice tray and stock as cubes in a resealable bag. Not just a very good homemade baby food option, pumpkin puree cubes can be added to fortify any number of dishes with a hearty serving of this nutrition rich vegetable.

Apicius Image Source

pumpkin french toast
Want to put them seasonal pumpkins to full use? Get over 20 pumpkin recipes here.
pumpkin french toast

Pumpkin French Toast

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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 2
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: global vegetarian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 tbsp pumpkin puree
  • pinch cinnamon powder
  • 4 slices bread at least 2 days old
  • 2 tsp oil to cook
to serve - use any one
  • icing sugar
  • pure maple syrup
  • honey

Method
 

  1. To prepare pumpkin French toast, in a shallow bowl or a deep dish, whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree and ground cinnamon. If using frozen cube of pumpkin puree, keep it out for sometime to thaw, before getting on with the recipe.
  2. Keep a skillet to heat. Grease the surface with a teaspoon or more of oil (neutral flavoured) or coconut oil if you like the flavour.
  3. Dip the bread slices into the egg mixture on both sides and place it to cook on the hot skillet. Allow to cook for around 1 minute on medium heat and flip over. Cook other side until golden spots appear and the egg coating has cooked thoroughly, using a bit of oil along the sides.
  4. Repeat with all the slices or you can do 2-3 slices at one time depending on the size of the skillet. Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar, honey or maple syrup.

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2 Comments

Comments

  1. Srividya says: November 24, 2017 at 10:52 am

    Hey Nandita.. great blog! How do I do this toast without eggs?

    Reply

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