This week's French Garden recipe

People who know me would tell you that it's hard to tell which I like more: gardening or cooking. I'd say it depends on which I'm doing at the moment. Anyway, French cooking and French gardening go hand in hand. For me, cooking is an on-going adventure. Join me here on my culinary explorations, where I share with you both my old favorites as well as new inspirations. It's my fondest wish that these recipes serve as a springboard for your own new creations.

06/02/2009
Orange blossom pain perdu with fresh strawberry-mint sauce

Ingredients:

To serve 4:

8 wedges of brioche*
2 large eggs
2 T. heavy cream or crème fraîche
1/3 c. whole or 2% milk
1-2 T. orange blossom water**
2 T. unsalted butter
1 qt. delicious strawberries
8 Moroccan or spearmint leaves (not peppermint) + 4 sprigs for garnish
1/4 c. sugar + 2 T. sugar
Powdered sugar for garnish

*I make this dessert with pogne, a delicious orange-blossom-scented brioche from the Drome region.  If using regular brioche or challah, use the larger amount of orange blossom water.
**Available in Middle Eastern and specialty groceries.

At least 2 hours before cooking and serving, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, 2 T. sugar, and orange blossom water in a wide shallow, flat-bottomed dish.  If your brioche (light bread rich in eggs and butter; challah can be substituted) is round, cut it into wedges about an inch thick at the thicker end.  If your brioche is loaf-shaped, cut diagonally across half of it twice to get 2 wedges, then cut straight across once, and cut that piece in half to get to more wedges, etc.  Place the wedges in the egg mixture, turn to coat, and let soak in the refrigerator, turning once more.

Puree 1/3 of the berries in a food processor with the sugar.  Reserve 4 perfect whole berries for garnish.Finely dice the remaining berries, chop the mint, and combine with the puree in a pretty bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, heat the butter over medium high heat until the foam subsides.  Cook the brioche wedges until golden brown on each side.  Spoon a small pool of strawberry sauce onto each plate.  Arrange 2 wedges of pain perdu in the sauce puddle, shower with powdered sugar, garnish with the whole berries and mint sprigs, and serve immediately.  Pass the rest of the sauce at table.

Note:  Pain perdu (lost bread) is none other than French toast, but it's such a more charming name.  Plus it reminds us that this is a recipe to use bread that would otherwise be lost because stale.  In France, pain perdu is more often served as a dessert and almost never as a breakfast.  This is a delicious dessert which will surprise and delight your guests with its beginning-of-summer triumvirate of flavors:  strawberry, orange blossom, and mint.

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Try some of our past French garden recipes:

Appetizers and small dishes

Basics

Beef, pork, lamb, and veal