Gooseberry Red Current and Blueberry Clafoutis

  
September is already knocking on our doors! Can you believe it? I am not ready for it quite yet. I still have so many great summer recipes cued up on my hard-drive. I have sweet treats with red currents, raspberries and peaches and savory bites with tomatoes and zucchini to share with you. But I am seeing the first signs of Autumn in the markets. Figs, plums, apples and grapes are all beckoning me to play with them.


I'm going to try and squeeze a few of the late summer recipes in the next few posts, then I'll be turning my attention to those lovely figs I saw at the market and the crate of plums and apples I brought back from my dear mother-in-law. The rest will have to wait till next summer!
In my last clafoutis post I mentioned that several friends and neighbors were sharing there homegrown produce with me in the hope of getting to sample a few creations from me. A large part of the produce I used to make clafoutis of different sorts - sweet and savory.
Easy, simple and very satisfying are all words I associate with clafoutis and always perfect for gatherings. This clafoutis uses lovely red currents, gooseberries and blueberries from my mother-in-laws garden. She grows so many wonderful produce in her garden and green-house, that a visit always ensures crates full of fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables.


My girlfriends and I have a monthly ritual. We get together once a month to cook, chatter and enjoy each others company. Girls only! It's a lot of fun and over prosecco or wine we giggle, chat and gossip about what ever is currently in. The rules are simple the host girlfriend selects the cuisine and organizes the groceries. One girlfriend is assigned the dessert, which she is in charge of organizing everything required for it. On the evening we all gather around in the kitchen and cook up something live - no recipes, no cookbooks. Just make the best out of the available ingredients. Trust me after a few glasses of cocktails or prosecco you produce a few creative and sometimes unique dishes - but always delicious! Usually, if I am not the host, I am assigned the dessert.

As this month my fridge was bursting with berries there was really only one way to go - a berry dessert. And as clafoutis makes everyone happy, it was an instant winner. I added a couple of tablespoons of polenta into the batter for a crisper and crunchier batter. The result was a soft and fluffy clafoutis with a juicy, sweet and tart melody of berries and a slightly crispier texture. 

Gooseberry Red Current & Blueberry Clafoutis

[Printable version of recipe here]
Ingredients
400g mixed berries – gooseberries, red currents and blueberries
130g all-purpose flour
20g fine polenta
60g muscovado sugar + extra to sprinkle
2 eggs lightly beaten
200ml milk
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
40g butter, melted


Method

1. Preheat oven the oven to 200 degrees C. Brush a wide, shallow ovenproof dish with some of the butter.
   
   
2. In a large bowl mix half of the milk, all of the crème fraîche and eggs, then add the flour. Once it starts to thicken add the rest of the milk, sugar, polenta and cinnamon.
   
   
3. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until incorporated.
   
   
4. Spread half of the berries in the dish, then pour the batter over the top. Finally top with the remaining berries.
   
   
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
   
   
6. Sprinkle with extra sugar and serve warm.

We enjoyed this with some great vanilla ice cream à la David Lebovitz, which I had made earlier that week. It’s a spectacular creamy and rich ice cream that works so well with the warm clafoutis. But if you cannot make your own vanilla ice cream then store bought works too.
A thick vanilla sauce would also work wonderfully with this clafoutis, which you could also slightly warm up.

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Verdict

A scoop of bourbon vanilla ice cream and a large spoonful of this warm clafoutis is such a pleasurable way to end a lovely dinner. There was a burst of explosive flavor when the warm clafoutis paired with the cold ice cream hit the tastebuds. The girls just devoured every last bit, digging into the succulent berries with the creamy batter. On girls nights our men decide to spend the evening elsewhere; this time barbecuing. I had made them a nice portion of the clafoutis too - after their cheeky comments "we men do not need dessert - just meat!" I had to smirk when the form came home empty!

You might like these clafoutis from WFLH:

Apricot Clafoutis	Raspberry and Nectarine Clafoutis

  
Daily Tiffin Reading Tip
 Vegetarian Pyramid Series – Kamut written by Dhivya

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