My newest book:
Cherry Clafoutis Summer
I just read and loved The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. She is an English writer most well-known for her books that take place in India. But this book is wonderfully evocative of summertime in France. It took me right back to the summer I spent in France when I was in high school. I was just about the same age as the young girl who is the narrator of the book. And I lived with a French family in the Champagne country of the Marne, the same area where the book takes place.
In the home where I stayed Madame Lequime was a fantastic cook. She didn't use a cookbook. She didn't use measuring cups. Her recipes came out of her head and the most delicious meals came out of her kitchen. I learned a lot about cooking from her. I followed her around and tried to write down descriptions of what she was doing. That summer I started my recipe notebook that I continue to this day. One of the first recipes that I entered was for Clafoutis, which was a delicious cake-like dessert that Madame made with fruit and left-over crepe batter.
The recipe in my notebook is half in English and half in French and very vague. I've adjusted it over the years and it is one of my favorite summertime recipes, especially during cherry season.
CLAFOUTIS (Kla-foo-TEE)
Whisk together: 1 cup flour, 3 eggs, 1 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Arrange about 2 cups (1 pound) of whole cherries in a buttered baking dish. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.
This is an extremely easy recipe! It is very puffy when it first comes out of the oven. As it cools it sinks down and becomes more flan-like. It is delicious both ways: straight out of the oven and as a next-day-left-over. Madame Lequime made her Clafoutis with various fruits that she got fresh from the market, including plums and apples, as well as cherries. Just watch out for the cherry pits - the good thing is they make you eat more slowly!
My recipe for crepe batter is very similar but not quite the same: click here