Friday 11 February 2011

"Poor Knights"

The other day, I wanted to have something different for lunch than my usual cheese sarnies, and after a quick check of the contents of my fridge, I decided on something that in German is called "Arme Ritter", literally meaning "Poor Knights".

You need bread and eggs - all the other ingredients are entirely up to you and what's there. In my case, I used basil, salt and pepper, and half a cucumber as side dish or edible decoration :-)



Beat two eggs in a soup plate, spice with salt, pepper and basil leaves (or any other condiment, with or without herbs, whatever you prefer).
Cut two thick slices of bread and soak them in the egg mixture.



Heat some olive oil, butter, margarine or whichever is your preferred cooking fat in a pan and fry the slices from both sides until golden brown.




Eat and enjoy!



If you, like me, hate throwing food away, "Poor Knights" is a good way to use bread that is already a bit stale or dry. You can also use white bread, add sugar to the eggs and maybe something like ground hazelnuts or almonds, making this a sweet dish, to be eaten with fruit preserve or jam (the white bread and sugar method is actually the classic "Poor Knight").
It is a nice little dish to have when you do not feel like being in the kitchen for long, don't wish to eat a microwaved meal and yet want something warm - just perfect for the likes of me :-)

12 comments:

  1. Fabulous idea. Thank you for posting and for your wonderful pictures, (I like your salt/pepper containers!) I will make this for my lunch today.

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  2. It sounds like a sort of French Toast, and it looks great! Hungry!!! :-(

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  3. We call it French Toast and usually have it as a breakfast meal or sometimes when we have breakfast for supper! Looks yummy, especially with the basil. When I make it I add cinnamon to the egg mixture and then after its cooked pour warm maple syrup over it . . . YUM!!

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  4. Jill, those salt/pepper containers turn upside down to grind the salt grains and pepper corns just as you need them, they were a very practical wedding gift from my husband's colleagues at school.

    Anonymous, this is quickly made, so if my description made you hungry, you would have been able to eat that in 5 minutes :-)

    Mary, it sounds YUMMY indeed with cinnamon and maple syrup! I think I will try some different varieties soon.

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  5. Yes,that seems like a quickly- made-meal, though no fastfodd. ;-)
    I wonder, where the funny name "Poor Knights" comes from? Do you know it? Then, please, explain!

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  6. Sorry, of course fast f o o d!

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  7. Dear Anonymous, without having looked it up, I guess the origin of the name stems from it being something poor people would eat, lacking the funds for a piece of meat but still wanting to have a hot meal. Maybe when a knight's family were too poor to afford meat, they still wanted to serve something that looked "grander" than just a pot of watery vegetable soup :-)

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  8. Thank you, Librarian, that might be exactly the reason for the name. People always like to give faboulous names to simple things- don't they? But anyway, I tried it and it tasted really fine!!!

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  9. Glad you tried & liked it, Anonymous - and it would be lovely to know who you are; do I actually know you? :-)

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  10. Maybe- maybe not! ;-)

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  11. The mysterious Anonymous is not me,
    12

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  12. 12, I know you are not the other Anonymous... and I actually do have an incling about who it might be :-) If I am right, the initials are M.B.
    Right?

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