This is a delicious, unusual and quick brunch that I made for my friend Pat Smith visiting from Ann Arbor, MI. I like the balance between sweet, salt and tart tastes, as did Pat. French toast is something I knew in France as pain perdu or lost bread, I never had it for breakfast until I came to this country. There, it is always served as a dessert and mostly to use up stale bread. My batter is pretty simple and the secret is in the bread: I use good french sourdough country bread. The duck bacon is of course from d’Artagnan, it’s slight gaminess reveals itself only after the pleasant tartness of the fresh rhubarb. There is no need for extra maple syrup as I sweeten the rhubarb compote with it.
Rhubarb compote
4 cups of peeled and cut up fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup maple syrup
a few spoons of water
Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan, cook slowly until the rhubarb falls apart. Put aside
French Toast Batter
2 egg
1/2 cup of milk
a pinch of cinnamon (Ariane, Cathie you can skip that part)
Fry the duck bacon in a skillet, keep warm. Save and cook the toasts in the dripping (yum!)