I have been wanting to make a clafoutis for a while now. The traditionally sweet French dessert is made with fruit, usually cherries, cooked in a batter made with eggs, ground almonds, sugar and flour. Cherries are in season here now and are very cheap but it is impossible to find a cherry pitter/pipper/stoner or whatever it’s called, in this town. Apparently you can make it with the stones left in the cherries but I live with the most accident prone man in Andalucia and can’t be doing with the Heimlich manoeuver in this heat.
Thankfully our cherry tomato plant has just decided to produce a large amount of ripe fruit at the same time that the basil plants (purple and green) are growing like weeds. I say thankfully because I found a recipe for a savoury clafoutis in The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo that my friend Rhian bought me for my birthday. There are lots of lovely things in the book but the savoury clafoutis was top of my list of things to try especially with our little baby tomatoes.
I saw these courgette blossoms still with the little courgettes attached at the market and bought a load of them. I used some as a topping with some portobello mushrooms on a pizza but still had a few left so I sliced the mini courgettes into the clafoutis filling and topped them with a flower.
I made two individual clafoutis in mini loaf tins with this recipe but you can double it and make a big one in a baking dish or tin that should serve 4-6 as part of a lunch or picnic. Or use little ramekins.
You could change the cheese to a Manchego, Cheddar or Gruyère, switch up the herbs and use leftover roasted vegetables as an alternative filling. I served it with this French Potato Salad.
Cherry Tomato Clafoutis with Goat’s Cheese, Basil & Courgette Blossom
Serves 2-3 (easily doubled), Vegetarian. Adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen
Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 15-20 mins (small) 30-40 mins (large)
- 50g goat’s cheese/feta
- 50g cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 2 or 3 courgette blossoms (stamens removed) baby courgettes finely sliced (optional)
- a handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- a few sprigs of fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- salt & black pepper
- 25g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp flour
- 50g goat’s yoghurt (or greek yoghurt)
- 50 ml milk (I used oat milk)
Preheat oven to 180C and lightly oil and flour your dishes. Scatter the tomatoes, crumbled/torn goat’s cheese and sliced baby courgettes, if using, evenly over the base(s).
Whisk the eggs well with the salt & pepper then gently fold in the ground almonds and flour until just combined. Stir in the yoghurt, milk and fresh herbs.
Pour the batter over the filling and top each one with a courgette flower. Bake until golden brown and set. 15-20 minutes for small, 30 -40 minutes for larger. Tip them out of the moulds or serve from the large dish, warm or at room temperature.
Things That Made Me Smile Today………
Our new lavender plant, a beautiful magenta colour.
Huge, bright and blousy squash and pumpkin flowers, the first sign that autumn will arrive and along with it relief from the unbearable heat.
Enjoy your weekend..
Your photographs are amazing! This recipe looks super-tasty, too, so thanks for sharing!
Those look great. I’d love to try the blossoms, but never see them at the market. I have them in my garden, but obviously won’t pull them. I need the zucchini more. Still this is tempting.
Beautiful, Clafoutis sounds so much more appealing than frittata which is what it would be called here. I’m going to call them savoury clafoutis from now on and watch the funny looks..LOL
Both recipes turned out so pretty! I love your photo of the flowering courgettes… It would be beautiful framed in my kitchen:) we don’t get those flowers here, sadly*pout* xoxo
What a beauty. Where did you find the zucchini blossoms. So far I have yet to find them. Very impressive recipe and photos.
Clafoutis is an entirely new word to me! This sounds like a really wonderful recipe and one I’d very likely make. I’m eager to try. I like the photos of the things that make you smile…Very pretty, and they make me smile, too! 🙂 Debra
I’ve never encountered pits in a baked item, good to know the possibility exists, sounds dangerous! The blossoms and the vivid red from the tomato add such a lovely visual element to the dish, sounds wonderful!
Ooh, I came back from the Uk with four of those mini loaf tins, so am feeling very inspired. Am still chuckling over the cherry/Heimlich manoeuvre thing as I thought it was just me who lived with an accident prone partner (mind you, I think he feels the same about me)!
what a great idea and your photos are stunning! great styling crumbs and all!
I love savoury claufoutis and this recipe looks delish! I am however jealous of the courgette flowers. We just don’t see them much here in Scotland so don’t get a chance to play with them in recipes such as this (or stuff and fritter them – yum)
Fruit clafoutis has been a breakfast staple in our house for a while now, but never once have I considered a savory twist! Yours looks absolutely divine! I bet it would make for an amazing lunch! Thank you so much for the inspiration.
Your savory clafoutis looks beautiful and must be delicious. Happy that I stopped by to discover this recipe.
This looks fantastic – I love the savory take on a dish that already offers some variety. And your photos make it seem worth picking my zucchini blossoms… can’t wait to try it!
Very good information. Lucky me I came across your website by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve book marked it for later!