Beautiful Bones: Ricotta Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries

One of my favorite blogs to read is Susan's warm, friendly and inviting Food Blogga. Somehow, every single one of Susan's entries make you feel like she's just invited you into her kitchen for a cup of tea and a nice chat. Her friendly, approachable manner of cooking always reminds me of why I love being in the kitchen. So, when I saw Susan was hosting an event, Beautiful Bones, of course I wanted to participate. This event is to raise awareness in the female blogging community about osteoporosis. Susan was asking for calcium rich recipes that could help every woman make their bones a little bit stronger at every meal.

My first thought was ricotta pancakes. A delicious, light and fluffy spin on that IHOP standard, ricotta pancakes have all of the taste with the added bonus of being healthy for you. I had never had ricotta pancakes before living with my family in Italy. However, my family over there had this neighbor who made his own ricotta. You have not eaten ricotta until you've had fresh ricotta. They'd get some from this guy every week, in exchange for the wine, red sauce, or whatever else they had made in mass quantities during the week. So, one Sunday morning, early into my trip, I woke up to the fluffy delight that is a ricotta pancake (or frittella in Italian, which also means fritter). Great, I said, ricotta pancakes it is. I love them with lemons and blueberries.

However, a quick glance at Susan's page, and I saw she had beaten me to the punch. My cousin's recipe is pretty much the same, but with blueberries and lemon zest. I wanted something new, so that idea went out the window. I got to thinking, though, about what makes ricotta pancakes so great. Besides the taste, there's the increased healthy factor. With the simple addition of ricotta, breakfast goes from just a white flour pancake to a nutrition packed way to start your day. So I started wondering, what other breakfast standard could I gussy up a little bit? French toast popped to mind pretty quickly. Usually, white bread, glops of whole egg, powdered sugar and maple syrup. Delicious, sure, but there has to be a better way to start your day. This recipe, I think, packs that healthy punch we're looking for, and is still totally delicious! Give it a try and let me know!

Ingredients

(serves 2)

4-6 ounces of skim milk ricotta

1/3 c powdered sugar

2 tsp strawberry basil syrup (recipe follows)

2 tsp freshly grated cinnamon

2 tsp of vanilla paste

4 slices of whole grain bread

4 egg whites, 2 egg yolks

2 tsp of freshly grated cinnamon (again)

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste

3-4 tbsp of skim milk

1/4 c of strawberry basil syrup

1/3 c of greek yogurt

10 strawberries, halved

Directions:

Combine ricotta, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 2 tsp of vanilla paste, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Chill overnight to let flavors mix. Add the powdered sugar in slowly, tasting as you go. 1/3 c was a guess, but it might be less. You don't want this mixture to be too sweet, because the syrup going on top is also sweet and you don't want to overdo it.

Combine eggs, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste and milk in a shallow bowl, and whisk thoroughly. Take two slices of bread, spread a few spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture on a slice of bread (being careful not to go straight to the edges) and sandwich together. Coat sandwich in egg mixture, and cook 2-3 minutes per side, in a warmed pan sprayed with nonstick spray.

In a separate pot, pour in 1/4 c (or more) of strawberry basil syrup, and warm on low heat. Add yogurt and stir thoroughly.

Put french toast on a plate, garnish with fresh strawberries and yogurt sauce. I don't think this needs any powdered sugar -- it's sweet enough. But you can add it if you wish.

Strawberry Basil Syrup:

about 20-25 strawberries, hulled and halved

1/2 c sugar

6-8 large basil leaves

1/4 c water

(cornstarch dissolved in water as necessary to thicken)

Boil first 4 ingredients in a pot, stirring occasionally, until reduced (about 30-45 minutes). Add cornstarch mixture as necessary to thicken. You want it to be a little bit thinner than maple syrup, but still thick. This can be made the day before, and just refrigerated.