Recipe Courtesy of Patricia Wells’ At Home in Provence cookbook
You may be familiar with a traditional clafoutis–the baked French dessert that involves the season’s best fruit (traditionally ripe cherries) covered with a eggy, custard-like batter and baked until browned and puffed up. Some of my other favorite fruits to use in the sweet version are ripe figs, fresh apricots and plump raspberries.
I was excited to make this savory version of a traditional clafoutis that focuses on the ripest tomatoes of the season. The batter is similar to a traditional clafoutis batter, just without the sugar. Poured on top of ripe tomatoes and flavored with fresh herbs, this Provençal side dish was a big hit at our dinner table and know it will be at yours as well.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Tomato Clafoutis’
Ingredients:
- Recipe Courtesy of Patricia Wells’ At Home in Provence cookbook*
- 2 lbs. firm, ripe tomatoes
- fine sea salt to taste
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, carefully stemmed (Fresh basil or tarragon would also be nice here*)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Core, peel and quarter the tomatoes lengthwise. Place the tomatoes, side by side, on a double thickness of paper toweling. Sprinkle generously with salt. Cover with another double thickness of paper toweling. Set aside to purge the tomatoes of their liquid for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- In a small bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, cream, half of the cheese, and half of the thyme leaves. Season lightly with salt and whisk to blend.
- Layer the tomatoes on the bottom of the (10 1/2-inch round baking dish; I used individual gratin dishes instead*). Pour the batter over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and thyme. Place in the center of the oven and bake until the batter is set and the clafoutis is golden and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp, cut into wedges.
Tagged: At Home in Provence, clafouti, eggs, France, French, fresh herbs, heavy cream, Patricia Wells, Provencal, Provence, tomato clafouti, tomatoes
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