Lack of time, late dinner… It often happens that we don’t have the motivation to get into the kitchen for a meal worthy of the name. But apart from pasta or sandwiches, another option can present itself, ready in a few minutes: toast.
With the help of a few key ingredients, it even becomes a complete meal on its own, delicious and filling. Pauline Pied, dietitian nutritionist, gives us her favorite version, to be reproduced all fall.
Country or cereal bread for the base
First ingredient, and not the least: bread. For her toast, the dietician favors country bread, the taste of which she particularly appreciates with the other ingredients. Grain bread is also a good option.
For a more filling sandwich, wholemeal bread can also find its place on the plate, provided you digest it well and appreciate its flavor. In all cases, it constitutes the source of starchy foods in the meal.
The idea is therefore not to consider bread as a simple support for the ingredients, but as one of the elements which makes it possible to compose a balanced meal.
A touch of garlic to spice up the toast
Once the bread has been chosen, Pauline Pied recommends rubbing a clove of garlic directly on the slice. A very simple gesture that immediately flavors the toast, without the need to add a sauce or a significant quantity of fat.
Above all, garlic brings flavor and gives character to this very simple preparation. Then just continue with the fresh ingredients.
Tomatoes to provide freshness and vitamins
Then place the tomato, simply cut into pieces and placed on the bread.
“That’s not how we’re going to recover all the fibers we need.” nuance the dietitian, but the tomato remains interesting for providing fiber, vitamins and minerals, while giving freshness to the toast.
The quantity does not need to be enormous: it mainly contributes to the balance and pleasure of the meal.
30 to 40 g of cheese for protein
This is where the toast takes on another dimension. Before putting it in the oven, Pauline Pied adds 30 to 40 grams of cheese. His favorites: mozzarella, ricotta or goat cheese.
Cheese provides proteins and fats in particular, and thus transforms the toast into a real meal base. This combination also makes it possible to make a vegetarian version, without meat or fish.
Mozzarella for a soft texture, ricotta for more softness or goat cheese for a more pronounced flavor: everyone has their own preference.
Raw vegetables to complete
Last step: we don’t stop at the toast. To make it a more complete meal, the dietician recommends accompanying it with seasonal raw vegetables, on a plate. For the crunch, the vitamins, and there, again the fibers.
Nuts for an added touch
Finally, to further complete the plate, a few walnuts or almonds can be added. “In general, I’ll add a little nuts, almonds, walnuts, whatever I have in the kitchen.”explains Pauline Pied. A way to add proteins and vary the nutritional intake of the meal.
The combination then becomes particularly simple: a warm, melting slice of toast, a few crunchy raw vegetables and a small handful of oilseeds.
A toast, and dinner is ready
No need to spend an hour in the kitchen to compose a balanced meal. With bread, garlic, tomato, a little cheese and a few nuts, to which we add seasonal raw vegetables, the toast transforms into a complete and vegetarian plate.
And that is perhaps its whole point: it requires little preparation, adapts to what you have in the refrigerator and allows you to change from the traditional sandwich or pasta. A simple solution when time is short, without sacrificing taste or variety on the plate.