Stuffed French Toast with Gruyere, Mustard Greens and Double-Smoked Bacon
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 991
- Total Fat
- 71
- Saturated Fat
- 33
- Carbohydrates
- 47
- Dietary Fiber
- 7
- Sugar
- 13
- Protein
- 43
- Cholesterol
- 338
- Sodium
- 1165
- Total: 1 hr 5 min
- Active: 1 hr 5 min
Ingredients
1/4 cup creme fraiche
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Few dashes hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices double-smoked bacon
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 pound mustard greens, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 cups half-and-half
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Eight 1/2-inch slices sourdough or pain de mie bread
8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
Directions
- Whisk together the creme fraiche, mustard and hot sauce in a small bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Set a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, turning once, about 8 minutes. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate, and then cut the slices into thirds.
- Add the red onions to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until just starting to wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, and then transfer the greens to a bowl.
- Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk and half-and-half in a baking dish until smooth. Add the Parmesan and some salt and pepper; whisk until combined.
- Spread the bread slices with some of the creme fraiche mixture, and top with a slice of Gruyere. Top half of the slices with 3 or 4 pieces of bacon and a little mound of greens. Turn the remaining slices, cheese-side down, on top of the greens and press down to make sandwiches.
- Working in batches of two, soak the sandwiches in the egg mixture on both sides until just soaked, about 2 minutes per side.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. (If you have a skillet large enough to cook all four sandwiches at once, add all of the oil and butter now.) Add two sandwiches to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and fry until crisp, golden and cooked through on both sides, about 5 minutes per side--cover the pan if needed to help the cheese melt, and adjust the heat to prevent the French toast from burning. Repeat with the remaining oil, butter and sandwiches.
- Halve the cooked sandwiches on the diagonal and serve hot.