José Pizarro’s Saffron and Honey Torrijas
For the uninitiated, torrijas are Spain's answer to French toast. The perfect way to use up any stale bread, José Pizarro's torrijas are infused with honey and saffron and emerge from the pan crisp and golden.
Introduction
I often joke that I’m sweet enough, but when it comes to desserts, I can’t resist indulging in a beautifully made torrija. This classic Spanish dish is essentially about transforming simple ingredients into something sublime, and it all starts with the milk infusion. Infusing milk with different things not only enhances the overall taste but brings the humble torrija to life. In this recipe, I’ve chosen to infuse the milk with a trio of amazing flavours: saffron, cardamom and orange. Saffron, a spice I adore and frequently use in my ice cream recipes, adds a luxurious richness here as well. The warm, earthy undertones of the saffron blend perfectly with the aromatic zest of the orange, while cardamom introduces a subtle, spicy complexity that transforms the dish.
Ingredients
| 400ml (13fl oz/generous 1½ cups) | whole milk |
| Good pinch of | saffron threads |
| 50g (2oz/heaped ¼ cup) | caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra for dusting |
| 2 tbsp | honey |
| 4 | cardamom pods, cracked open |
| pared zest of 1 | orange |
| 4 thick slices of | slightly stale bread |
| 2 large | free-range eggs, beaten |
| 100ml (3½fl oz/scant ½ cup) | olive oil |
Method
Put the milk in a saucepan with the saffron, sugar, honey, cardamom and pared orange zest. Gently heat and infuse for about 10 minutes until the sugar has all dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes to infuse.
Pour the milk into a large dish and dip in the bread slices so they are soaked in the flavoured milk but not saturated and falling apart.
Beat the eggs in a separate shallow dish, then dip the soaked bread into the egg.
Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and fry the bread for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and dust with caster sugar. Arrange on plates and serve.
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