Savory Vegan French Toast

 My Hubby and I differ quite a bit on what we like for breakfast, especially since we moved away from New York and due to the fact that he is not vegan (read - he loves eggs).  When we were in NY and had access to fresh plantains, yucca and other amazing Spanish foods, we would eat those most days.  Those things are not so easy to find here in Northern Michigan, and when we do find them, they are very costly and not super fresh.  Most of the time, Hubbs and I will choose a savory breakfast over a sweet one, even eating sandwiches sometimes.  But sometimes I just want some American-style breakfast - like pancakes, waffles, (tempeh) bacon, etc.  But when I make those suggestions, he groans. 

Then one day when I was looking through the freezer to see what we had, I noticed we had a ton of bread (Hubbs gets bread for free from his job when the expiration date is close and we just pop it in the freezer).  I hadn't had French toast in a long time - basically since I was a kid living back home.  I made the suggestion to Hubbs, and he was kind of grossed out, but intrigued.  He had one request though: don't make it sweet.  Not sweet?  I thought about it for a while and decided it was a great idea.  I came up with a batter to dip it in and it turned out pretty good.  After making a couple adjustments, it came out great and this is one of our go-to breakfasts - something we can both agree on.

Nicely Spicy with Cool, Tangy Sour Cream

Serves: 5-6 slices, about 2

Multigrain Bread - 5-6 slices
Olive oil/canola oil

French Toast Batter:
1/2 cup chickpea flour
3 tablespoons unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 pinches black pepper
2 pinches cayenne pepper
2 pinches chipotle pepper powder
pinch of each onion and garlic powder
1/2 cup water

Toppings:
vegan sour cream
sriracha
salsa

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, unbleached flour, baking soda, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chipotle powder, onion and garlic powder.  Whisk together until combined.
2.  Add the water and whisk together to form a batter.
3.  Place a medium saute pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon or so of the olive oil or canola oil.  Allow the pan to become hot.
4.  In the meantime, make an assembly line of the bread, batter and a clean plate.  Dip each piece of bread in the batter, being sure to evenly coat both sides.  Place up to two slices of the dipped bread onto the clean plate. 
5.  Once the pan is hot, place both of the dipped slices of bread carefully into the oiled pan.  Allow each side of the bread to cook for a couple minutes per side, or until golden and crispy.  While the French Toast is cooking, continue dipping both sides of the bread until all of the batter and bread is used up. 
6.  Once all of the dipped bread has cooked through, place two slices on a plate, cut each piece in half and top with the sour cream and hot sauce or salsa.  That's it - simple and crazy delicious!



Enjoy!

-Koko