Okay, so the title of this dish makes no sense. The original merely calls it a food of pears, hardly unique.  How can it be German and French all at the same time.  It's German because the original came from  Ein Buch von Guter Spise (as translated by Alis Atlas) And it's French because that's what we call pain perdu in these parts.  This is one of the mainstays of our Junefaire Demo. Its easy to slip the fruit onto skewers early in the day to get something out there for the public to see and comment on, plus the smell of roasting fruit as the juice sizzles on the coals is a good draw.

Rustic white loaf of bread, sliced thinly

Butter or other fat for frying

Filling:

• 2 large pears

• 2 apples

• 1/2 teaspoon ground anise seed

• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

• 1 beaten egg

Batter for dipping:

• 2 eggs beaten

• 1 tbsp flour

• 1 tbsp milk

Skewer fruit and roast over coals, turning frequently until fruit is cooked mostly through. You may get some charring of the skin depending on how close you set the fruit to the heat and how often you turn it.  Pare, core and  chop, or grind fruit. Should have the consistency of chunky applesauce. (Or in the modern kitchen: pare, core and chop the fruit and cook in a saucepan until it is tender but still has some texture.- this can be done in a microwave as well)  Mix in spices and beaten egg.  If the mixture is too thin you can cook it down a bit until it thickens into a thick sauce.

Spread filling thickly on thinly sliced white bread (thinner the better) and cover with a second piece. The thicker you can spread the filling the better. 

Combine ingredients for batter and whisk smooth. Adjust liquid or flour to get a batter that will coat the sandwiches and stick.

Melt butter or grease in fry pan or on a griddle. Cook like French toast till bread is fairly dark. You can cover the pan with a lid to help cook the filling.

 Any extra filling can be cooked thick to make a good spread for fresh hot bread. 

Ein Buch von guter spise is an early German cookbook from around 1345-1355. It is available in the original German at Thomas Gloning's excellent site or you can access Alia Atlas's English translation at http://cs-people.bu.edu/akatlas/Buch/buch.html

                   10. Ein spise von birn (A food of pears)

     Nim gebratene birn und sure epfele und hacke sie kleine. und tu dar zu pfeffer und enis und ro eyer. znit zwo dünne schiben von dünne brote. fülle diz da zwischen niht vollen eines vingers dicke. mache ein dünnez blat von eyern und kere daz einez dor inne umm, und backez mit butern in einer phannen biz daz ez rot werde und gibz hin.

     Take roasted pears and tart apples and chop them small. And add thereto pepper and anise and raw eggs. Cut two thin slices from thin bread. Fill this in between not too full, of a finger's thickness. Make a thin leaf of eggs and turn that therein about and bake it with butter in a pan until it becomes red and give out.

Other recipes from Ein Buch von guter spise

• Apple Fritters
• Cheese and Bacon Pastries
• Colris
• Kraphen of Apples and Nuts
• Pickled Root Vegetables

Other Recipe featuring Fruit

• Apple Fritters
• Apple Puffs
• Apple Pillows
• Bryndons
• Cherry Puffs
• Gelly of Red Currents
• Puffed Apples
• Raison Pie
• Sweet and Sour Sauce for Pork
• Wardyns in Syrup