It’s been a little quiet over here on Chew Town, because we got a pretty special early Christmas present from Santa. A few weeks ago, a new little baby girl joined our little family. We’ve been in a self imposed world of baby cuteness and for the first time since this blog started, I’ve taken time out to enjoy this incredible experience.
I hope you all had a great Christmas Day yesterday filled with good food and family. Now that it’s boxing day, you can all enjoy a slothful day filled with more great food with far less effort – mostly leftovers I’m hoping. As a result of our great leftovers from yesterday, I’m sharing this incredible leftover savoury breakfast you can try during this holiday break.
This won’t be the first time I’ve mentioned my love of a savoury breakfast. I just can’t face super sweet first thing in the morning. As a result, I love to turn what is traditionally a sweet breakfast into a delicious savoury options.
Last year I played around with the waffle and made these parmesan and parsley waffles (which Scott still regularly requests for breakfast) and this year I’m attacking french toast which is the perfect use for your leftover Christmas ham. Because there is nothing more delicious for breakfast than savoury french toast!
Each year at this time we make our annual cider glazed ham because it is basically perfection and I can’t bear myself to make any other type of ham for fear it won’t be as good. We always have leftovers (as I’m sure you do too) so if you grab yourself a loaf of delicious brioche, some cheese, eggs and chives, you are 10 minutes away from incredibly delicious ham and cheese stuffed french toast!
The first most important ingredient is the brioche. Brioche is light as air and as long as you quickly dunk it in the egg mixture it will hold together beautifully (too long and it will disintegrate). You also don’t want it too eggy, just the perfect mix of egg, bread, ham and cheese.
Cutting the brioche slices is also key to this holding together beautifully. I cut thick two finger width slices and then take my knife and cut a pocket in the middle where I push in slices of ham and cheese. That way you only have to be careful of it coming out of one side when you dunk in the egg.
The third most important factor is ensuring you have the best ingredients. Good brioche, good ham and good cheese will go a long way to making this a spectacular breakfast.
Sure, it’s perfect for your leftover Christmas ham, but don’t let that stop you from making it all year round. From first bite I’m sure you will agree that this is one killer breakfast!
Ham and Cheese Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 large brioche loaf
- 6 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 large slices of thick cut ham
- 8 slices of mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Cut four large slices of brioche bread roughly two fingers wide. Taking your knife, cut a pocket in each slice of bread from the bottom. Place one slice of ham and two slices of cheese in each pocket.
In a shallow bowl combine eggs, milk, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, chives and salt and pepper to taste and whisk until well combined.
Preheat a large non-stick frypan on medium high heat and add butter and oil. Once the butter has melted, place one piece of stuffed brioche in the egg mixture for a few seconds then gently turn over. Leave for a few seconds and then place in the frypan. Repeat with remaining stuffed brioche and place all in pan (if they don't all fit, you may have to do this in batches, just make sure you do not put in the egg mixture until just before you put them in the pan).
Cook until golden, then flip and cook until the other side is golden and the cheese inside has melted.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
The leftover ham and boiled eggs I just had for breakfast pales in comparison to this decadent treat. Happy New Year to you all!
This french toast look simple & yummy….Thanks for sharing.
that ooozy cheese is all the fabulous! Hope your ‘christmas present’ is bringing you lots of love & happiness x
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Made this for 4 of us & had a great breakfast treat! I used a great winter wheat bread but otherwise followed the recipe! Very easy to prepare this wonderful variation on French toast! Thanks for sharing it!
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That’s very amazing & delicious French Toast recipe I have seen. Also, it requires less time to prepare. Thanks Amanda for your sharing :).
This looks really delicious, and your food photos are just amazing !
The leftover ham and boiled eggs I just had for breakfast pales in comparison to this decadent treat. Happy New Year to you all!
This is so delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe! I’ve tried a few other recipes for toast with ham, and even though some of them use a lot of spices that make everything taste amazing, this one is my favourite, because it’s so classical and perfect. You don’t any added ingredients to prepare a delicious meal for the picky kids, sometimes you just need a few great ingredients and everything comes together perfectly in the end.