Nick Malgieri
Nick Malgieri

Fotzelschnitte

Kaiser’s Reblaube, Peter Brunner’s Zurich restaurant, has long had a reputation as one of the finest tables in Switzerland for authentic Swiss dishes. At the restaurant these are served as a dessert with rhubarb compote and raspberry sauce.   The fruit can change with the seasons and strawberries, raspberries or sweet cherries would all work well in warm weather as would a chunky compote of apples or pears in the fall or winter.

Makes 4 servings

Rhubarb Compote

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Zest on a large orange stripped off in large pieces using a vegetable peeler

1 1/2 pounds fresh rhubarb, rinsed, tripped of all leaves and at the base, and cut into 2-inch pieces

Raspberry Sauce

2 half-pint baskets fresh raspberries or one 10-ounce package frozen berries, thawed

1/2 cup sugar

Toasts

3 large eggs

Pinch of salt

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 slices best-quality white sandwich bread, tripped of crusts and halved diagonally

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or more to taste

Chopped toasted almonds for serving

  1. For the compote, bring the sugar and water to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan or small Dutch oven with a cover.  Remove from heat and stir in the rhubarb and orange zest.  Cover the pan and let the rhubarb cook while the syrup is cooling.  Chill, then drain the rhubarb well before using in the dessert. The syrup may be saved for a second use.
  2. For the raspberry sauce, bring the berries and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and let simmer until slightly thickened.  Strain away seeds and chill the sauce.
  3. To make the toasts, whisk the eggs and salt together in a shallow bowl.  Heat the butter until foamy in a non-stick sauté pan.  Quickly dip on both sides as many pieces of the bread as will fit comfortably in the pan.  Cook until golden then turn and cook on the other side, adding a little more butter as necessary.  Transfer to a pan and place in a 275-dgree oven until all the toasts have been cooked.
  4. To finish and serve, mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl and turn each piece of toast in it to coat.  Arrange 4 triangles of the toast one side of a plate, then arrange some of the rhubarb opposite the toast and coat the ends of the rhubarb closest to the toast with some of the raspberry sauce.  Sprinkle the rhubarb with a pinch of chopped toasted almonds.