Breakfast in France is a simple affair. The breakfast tartine, a piece of toasted bread or a slice of baguette left over from the previous day’s meal, is pretty much the essence of it.
The tartine (the word comes from ‘tartiner,’ meaning ‘to spread’ in French) is usually buttered and eaten with jam or other spreads such as the ever-popular Nutella. Coffee, sometimes served in a bowl, is the preferred drink. During the weekend, the French like to indulge in pastries (viennoiserie). Walk into any bakery in France on Sunday morning, and you will undoubtedly notice how quickly the croissants and pain au chocolat (or chocolatine, if you live in southwest France) disappear!
The simplicity of the French breakfast makes perfect sense, since lunch tends to be more elaborate. When in France, head to the nearest bistro for a satisfying menu du jour: a three-course meal that often starts with an apéritif (for me that will be a kir or a pastis) and ends with un café. With this in mind, I think you can understand why scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast is certainly not the way to go in France!
One Sunday morning as I waited to order our viennoiserie at the bakery on Rue Paul Persil in Duras, our home away from home in Lot-et-Garonne, I noticed that people before me were asking for a pastry called ‘chausson aux pommes.’ In that instant, I decided to skip my usual pain au raisin and order one instead. And that wasn’t a bad choice at all.
These French apple turnovers are delectable for breakfast or with tea. But the best thing about them is that they are one of the easiest pastries to make. If you use ready-made flaky pastry, the most trouble (if you want to call it that) is making the apple compote.
The first time I made these my husband walked in the house and said it smelled like a French bakery. Now that certainly encouraged me to make them more often! And yes, you can easily make these plant-based!
