Red, White and Blueberry French Toast for Memorial Day!

Recipes for Memorial Day are traditionally centered on grilling. Late afternoon BBQs on Monday close out the three-day weekend that for many people represents the start of summer, even more so than the summer solstice on June 21. We can now officially wear white! 

This year I’m going against tradition and sharing the perfect breakfast/brunch entrée. After all, we need to eat breakfast, too, so why not celebrate with a beautiful dish that personifies the colors of the American flag?

Locally grown berries available at the Larchmont Farmers Market are reaching their peak of sweetness. I used most of the raspberries to make a homemade sauce often referred to as coulis, to replace maple syrup. I used both fresh raspberries and blueberries as a topping.  Wow! This is the way to eat French toast!  

Now you may be wondering how French toast could be made vegan. Milk, eggs, challah bread… Well, as I’ve stated in other articles, there are many wonderful plant based products available at local markets.  Full fat oat milk is my favorite plant milk for taste and mouth feel for this dish; as is Just Egg egg replacement. Salted vegan butter adds flavor without the high burn potential of dairy-based butter.  It’s a great sautéing product.  Finding the right bread at the Farmers Market was more difficult. I wanted bread that replicated Challah. I also wanted it unsliced. Not easy. I took my chance on the ciabatta bread I found at the Farmers Market. It turned out fantastic. Somewhat like a croissant French toast as the bread is very light and airy and a bit sweet.  It is luscious without weighing you down first thing in the morning. 

The key to perfect French toast is slightly stale bread that’s hand cut about 1½ inches thick. Slice the bread ahead and let it dry out on a sheet pan on the counter, flipping to dry out both sides.  

This ciabatta bread is very flat compared to other breads. Take that into account with how many slices the milk/egg mixture will make if you use another bread. You can double the mixture if necessary

Feel free to add strawberries and/or blackberries as a topping, too. 

I do hope that you’ll try this reinvented version of an old time favorite.  It’s a celebration on your plate and on your palette. 

Red, White and Blueberry French Toast:
6-8 thick cut slices Ciabatta or other white bread, dried out
1 cup full fat oat milk
4 T Just Egg egg replacement
2 tsp vanilla
Zest of one large orange
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Vegan butter
Raspberry sauce (recipe follows)
Fresh blueberries and raspberries
Powdered sugar

Whisk up the oat milk, Just Egg, vanilla, orange zest and cinnamon in a large shallow dish with sides. Place 3 to 4 slices of bread in the dish and then flip. Meanwhile heat a large nonstick pan and melt 2 T vegan butter. When a bit foamy, add the soaked bread and cook on the one side until browned, flip and repeat. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Repeat the entire process with the remaining bread. 

On each plate, drizzle raspberry sauce. Top with a few slices of French toast and scattered berries. Add more sauce all over the bread and berries. Top with powdered sugar sifted through a fine mesh strainer. Enjoy! 

Raspberry Sauce:
1 pound fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup water
2 T fresh lemon juice 

Put everything in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and let the sauce reduce down by half; about 20 minutes. Watch and stir frequently so as not to burn the bottom of the pot. Let cool 15 minutes. Strain the sauce into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the seeds. This is a bit labor intensive. You’ll need to press down on the seeds and mash the sauce through the strainer with a large spoon or silicon spatula. It’s well worth it as it is delicious!  Refrigerate several hours or overnight to cool and thicken. Put in a plastic squeeze bottle if you have one. Otherwise drizzle with a spoon. Leftovers can be used on ice cream, cakes, etc.