I first made this recipe on a Seafood and Wine Tour on Zodiac a few years ago, it was an idea I had been playing with for some time and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. I don’t often repeat myself while cooking meals aboard so writing this recipe down has been a long time coming.
Savory French toast is a food not many people can wrap their minds around, just like savory oatmeal, but it has just as many topping possibilities as classic French toast. Thick slices of bread are dipped in eggs and milk seasoned with garlic powder, mustard and any other seasonings you want, this is the first layer to make it a savory dish. The syrup and fruit topping are replaced with anything from tomato slices and cheese, curried vegetables and chutney or best of all hollandaise sauce with anything. After the hollandaise sauce is made fold in something special like asparagus and peas or in this case fresh crab meat and herbs.
Savory French Toast with Crab Hollandaise
Ingredients
French Toast
- 6 eggs
- ¾ c milk
- 1 ½ tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 loaf of Italian bread cut into thick slices
- butter for cooking
Hollandaise
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- juice of 1 ½ lemons
- ½ c butter, melted
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. cayenne
- ½lb crab meat
- 3 green onions, sliced
- ¼ c dill, chopped
- ¼ c parsley, chopped
Directions
French Toast
- In a shallow dish whisk together the ingredients for the French toast minus the bread and butter.
- Heat a skillet on medium heat.
- Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture letting them soak for at least 30 seconds per side.
- Add butter to the skillet and then a few slices of soaked bread, cook for about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown.
- Keep warm in a 200F oven while you make the Hollandaise sauce.
Hollandaise
- Fill a pot with a few inches of water and find a metal bowl to place over it that does not touch the water.
- Into the bowl add the egg yolks, whole egg and lemon juice, whisk them together and slowly drizzle in the melted butter whisking continuously.
- Keep the sauce moving while it cooks, switch to a rubber spatula if necessary so you don’t miss any spots. Cook the mixture until it thickens.
- Turn off the heat and add the remaining ingredients, fold everything together, taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Serve the French toast with a generous amount of sauce poured over top, garnish with an additional pinch of cayenne.
