Cooking with Tea: Temptation in a Teapot
Tea's versatility goes beyond the teacup. Age-old beverage adds flavorful lift to foods, too.
This recipe comes courtesy of Donna Kashola, owner of All Things Tea in Camarillo, and is adapted from A Touch of Rooibos (Rooibos Ltd., 2009). Rooibos tea has notes of honey and spice, which make it an ideal pairing with orange. The syrup also works well on pancakes and waffles. Serves 4.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 4, 1 cup Serving(s)
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cup Rooibos Syrup (recipe below)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 4–5 thick slices of day-old bread (white or wheat)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Rooibos Syrup
- 5 cups water
- 5 tablespoons rooibos tea
- ¼ cup orange blossom honey
- ¾ cup sugar
- Orange peel, 1-inch by 3-inch piece
Instructions
To make syrup, add orange juice, zest and Rooibos Syrup to a small, heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until it thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir in butter, vanilla and salt. Set aside and keep warm.
Whisk together eggs and buttermilk, and put in a shallow pan (a rectangular baking dish works well). Add bread and turn to coat both sides with the egg mixture. Leave bread to soak for a few minutes to absorb mixture.
Heat a pan over medium heat, lightly coat with cooking oil spray. Fry bread until it’s golden brown on each side.
To serve, top French toast with syrup and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.
Rooibos Syrup
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Over medium-high heat, stir until sugar and honey are dissolved. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, keeping the syrup at a boil, stirring occasionally until the syrup is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 45–60 minutes. Strain syrup with a wire-mesh strainer. It’s OK if some tea leaves remain in syrup.
Rooibos Syrup can be made a day ahead.
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