This way to Pan Toast heaven

For some of the least fussy, most satisfying meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, (or brunch for that matter) begin with warm, crunchy, toasty pieces of pan toast. It’s without a doubt my favorite gateway to quick, summer meal bliss.

Making toppings from scratch can be as simple as a few slabs of fresh picked heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella with torn basil leaves, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, ever slightly more work if you roast or grill veggies like scallion, zucchini or eggplant and melt those into warm hummus or babaganoush with a drizzle of olive oil and pine nuts, or for something on the sweeter side, ricotta or nut butter, fresh berries and a drizzle of raw honey.

The sky’s the limit, and don’t rule out the use of something leftover from the fridge like thin sliced steak or grilled fish, but just to be clear the TOAST is far from an afterthought or supporting cast, it’s a full blown co-star.

Equipment: Cast iron pan. Stove top / outdoor grill (or camp fire)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Bread:

• 4 Slices of your favorite Orchard Hill Bread (we recommend Whole Wheat round, Country Round or Sunny Flax)
• Olive oil

Topping ideas:

• Fresh veg: Tomato – Cucumber – Radish / Salad turnip – shaved red onion –
• Cooked veg: Eggplant – Zucchini – mushroom – sweet red pepper
• Spreads: Hummus – Zhoug – Babaganoush – Basil pesto – Olive tapenade – Sun dried tomato pesto
• Proteins: Grilled meat, fish or tofu.
• Sweet things: Ricotta – nut butter (if you’ve never tried, cashew butter is fantastic) berries

Preparation

Toppings:

1. Pick / slice / chop. Lots of things work here, but fresh herbs have to be the most under appreciated flavor boost. Basil, cilantro, mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, oregano and others can all find their place with the bounty of summer, straight as they came, or with some preparation. (infused or emulsified in olive oil for instance)

2. From the garden / local farm. The season moves quickly, so fresh tomatoes are just becoming ubiquitous, summer squash and zucchini waning, eggplant and ripe red pepper a few weeks off, but each of these, and a slew of others (sweet corn made into a spicy/ jammy relish, with roasted cherry tomato and oregano? yes please) have their day in the sun. If you choose well with the season, they need little enhancement to be extraordinary.

3. Cook or Grill Plenty of things from the farm are great raw, (including shaved marinated steak believe it or not) but others like eggplant, carrot and summer onion will want some cooking, stove top, oven or grilled. Next time you have the grill good and hot, throw a few baby carrots and red onion chunks on there to stash in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.

Make toast:

1. Place a cast iron pan on your heat source of choice. Medium heat works best.

2. Once warmed, add enough olive oil to the pan to lightly coat it.

3. Place sliced bread on the hot pan, turning immediately so that not all the oil gets soaked up on one side.

4. Be patient and let the bread brown for 6-8 minutes, flip over and repeat. The surface should be oiled enough to crisp a little, but not soaked in oil in which case it can become unpleasantly greasy.