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Recipe

A Bite To Eat With Alice: Mushroomy French toast

Prep time: 
20
Cook time: 
50
Skill level: 
Low
Serves: 
4
Golden French toast topped with creamy mushrooms, grated parmesan, and a dollop of crème fraîche, garnished with fresh dill.

Mushroomy French toast — crispy, golden bread topped with earthy, creamy mushrooms, parmesan, and a touch of crème fraîche for the perfect savoury bite. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

Alice Zaslavsky is the host of A Bite To Eat with Alice, weeknights at 5pm on ABC TV and anytime on ABC iview. Alice is the resident culinary correspondent for ABC News Breakfast and ABC Radio, a food literacy advocate, bestselling cookbook author, and creator of Phenomenom, a free digital toolbox helping teachers slip more serves of veg into the curriculum.

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Brian Nankervis is back, and this time Alice is treating him to a savoury take on a classic — mushroomy French toast. With his deep love for bold flavours, this dish delivers in every way. 

A plate of mixed mushrooms, including Swiss brown, oyster, enoki, shimeji, and king brown, arranged on a ceramic dish.

A selection of mixed mushrooms for mushroomy French toast, bringing layers of earthy flavour and texture. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

A mix of caramelised mushrooms, Dijon mustard and crème fraîche creates an earthy, creamy topping, perfectly balanced with fresh herbs and a hint of lemon. 

Creamy cooked mushrooms mixed with crème fraîche in a glass bowl with a spatula.

The crème fraîche blends with the mushrooms to create an earthy, creamy filling for the French toast. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

The base? Buttery, golden French toast, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. It's rich, comforting and full of depth — proof that French toast isn't just for the sweet tooths!

Slices of egg-soaked sourdough frying in butter in a pan.

Cooking the egg-soaked sourdough in butter creates a crisp, golden crust. For the best texture, use day-old bread to help it soak up more flavour without becoming too soft. (ABC TV: Wesley Mitton)

Tips

  • Don't skip the wet-fry method: Cooking the mushrooms in their own liquid before adding oil intensifies their flavour and gives them a deep, caramelised taste.
  • Use the porcini soaking liquid: The reserved liquid from the dried porcini mushrooms is packed with umami — add it back into the dish for an extra boost of flavour.
  • Day-old bread works best: Slightly stale sourdough absorbs the egg mixture better without becoming too soggy, giving you the perfect texture.
  • Soak the bread properly: Let the bread sit in the egg mixture for at least 10 minutes (flipping halfway) to ensure it's fully soaked and custardy inside.
  • Cook in batches if needed: If your pan is small, cook the French toast in batches and wipe out the pan between each round to avoid burnt butter.
  • Adjust the sauce consistency: If the mushroom mixture thickens too much, add a splash of water to loosen it before serving.
  • A little lemon goes a long way: The fresh lemon juice brightens up the dish and balances the richness of the mushrooms and crème fraîche.

Here's the full list of recipes from Season 2 of A Bite To Eat With Alice.

This recipe appears in A Bite to Eat with Alice, a new nightly cooking show on ABC iview and weeknights at 5pm on ABC TV.

A Bite To Eat With Alice: Mushroomy French toast

Prep time: 
20
Cook time: 
50
Skill level: 
Low
Serves: 
4

Ingredients

Mushrooms 

  • 10g dried porcini mushrooms (½ cup loosely packed) 
  • 800g mixed mushrooms, sliced (Swiss, flat/field, oyster, shimeji, king brown) 
  • 1½ tablespoons olive oil 
  • 2 tablespoons (40g) unsalted butter 
  • 2 golden shallots, peeled and finely chopped 
  • 1 lemon, juiced (about 40ml) 
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
  • ½ teaspoon sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
  • ⅓ cup (80g) crème fraîche, plus extra to serve 
  • ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 
  • 2 tablespoons chopped dill 
  • Salt flakes, to season 
  • White pepper, to season 
  • Finely grated parmesan, to serve (optional) 

 French toast 

  • 3 eggs 
  • ½ cup (125ml) milk 
  • Fine salt, to season 
  • White pepper, to season 
  • 4 thick slices sourdough bread (at least a day old is best) 
  • 3 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter 
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil   
  • Salt flakes, to finish 

Method

  1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in 1 cup (250ml) of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid, then finely chop the soft soaked porcini and set aside to add later. 
  2. For the mushrooms, follow the wet-fry method by plonking all the fresh mushrooms into a large frying pan. Add ½ cup of the reserved porcini liquid and crank the heat up to high, bringing to a high simmer and cook the mushrooms until all the liquid has evaporated, you can hear a sizzle and the mushrooms begin to brown. This will take about 8—10 minutes. At this point add the oil, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms caramelise with burnished edges.
  3. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside. Return the frying pan to medium heat and add the butter and the shallots. Stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the shallots soften and are lightly golden. Tip the mushrooms back into the pan, then stir in any remaining porcini liquid, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, Dijon mustard, crème fraîche, half the chopped parsley, chopped dill, chopped porcini and a generous pinch of salt flakes and white pepper to coat the mushrooms and warm through. Add a splash of water to thin the sauce a little, if preferred. 
  4. For the French toast, place the eggs and milk in a wide shallow bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk together to combine. Place the bread slices into the egg mixture, then turn over to coat both sides. Leave for 5 minutes, then flip the bread over and let it sit for another 5 minutes to suck up the mix (depending on the thickness and staleness of your bread — you want it to be super moist!)  
  5. Heat half the butter and a drop of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the bread for 2 minutes each side or until golden brown. You may need to do this in batches, in which case wipe out the pan with paper towel and repeat the cooking process with the remaining bread slices, butter and oil if need be.
  6. Serve the slices of toast topped with a spoonful of mushrooms, a dollop of extra crème fraîche, grated parmesan, a scattering of parsley and a pinch of salt flakes. 
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