Italian “French Toast”

        The first time I cooked this hot sandwich with cheese it was quite a challenge for me since it happened in the dark times when my kitchen skills were limited to basic ones and even frying a piece of bread without burning it could be a problem. Gone are those shameful days of my culinary ignorance! But, surprisingly as it is, this simple, unpretentious type of breakfast has become one of the options in our family - and, of course, I don’t struggle any more while making it! There’s only one unsolved problem left: whenever it comes to naming the dish, I get confused since, on the one hand, technically it’s a French toast but, on the other hand, because of the ingredients that are used it may easily be called “Italian” as well.

            No doubt, it tastes best when it comes straight from the pan onto your plate, with a hot and crunchy parmesan crust and a gooey mozzarella filling. However, once I cooked a batch of these toasts for a big family breakfast and my brother, who was too sleepy and apathetic in the morning and showed no particular interest in these toasts, eagerly munched on them cold during lunchtime. Indeed, they can be served not only as a breakfast dish but as a nice snack or a picnic option as well (the two slices of bread get “glued” to each other with melted cheese so it’s easy to eat the sandwich even if you don’t have a fork and a knife). 

            And don’t think too much about naming these toasts correctly: whether you should call them “French” or “Italian”. “What’s in a name?” after all? It’s the taste that really matters!

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread, crust removed

150 gm mozzarella

4 eggs

60 ml milk

4 tbsp parmesan, grated

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Slice mozzarella thinly, arrange it on 4 pieces of bread, season with salt and crushed black pepper and top with the remaining pieces of bread.
2. Beat eggs slightly together with milk. Stir in parmesan and pour the mixture into a shallow bowl or plate. Put your sandwiches in it and leave them to soak for 5 minutes, then turn and leave in the egg mixture for 5 more minutes.
3. Heat butter together with oil in a pan over high heat. Fry the toasts, on both sides, till a nice crust is formed and the cheese melts.
4. Serve with fresh vegetables and salad leaves.