Cherry Clafouti, how much can I mess with the recipe?

[Sarah McC]

I found a recipe for Julia Child's Cherry Clafouti on the board a couple of weeks ago, when I had lots of cherries from my CSA but not enough time to eat them.

The recipe is the easiest thing in the entire world. Put all ingredients but cherries in a blender. Put batter and cherries in pan of any sort and cook for an hour in a 350 degree oven.

Here's the thing, the batter is super thin, making the cooked thing almost custard-y. I don't love custard. Can I double or even triple the flour and still use the blender? Can I eliminate the sugar and make a savory clafouti? I have so much summer squash and zucchini. I might try the batter without sugar and vanilla, and bake with sauteed veggies and maybe some cheese?

I hate to waste food, so please tell if there is a flaw in my plan!!

[Ida Red]

There are so many variations to the basic recipe...
I like to make it with almond flour which gives it a bit more bite and less custard-y.

[ChefJune]

Sarah, I've made clafoutis of almost everything.. fruit and vegetable. Zucchini is delicious done that way. I don't share your dislike of custard, but no reason you cannot add more flour. Your crust will be more cakey. That is the way I make cobbler!

[chef chicklet]

I beg your pardon, clafouti is an egg based custard with fruit, delicious, and eggey. Why not do something different that is more to your tastes. What your describing is a frittata. Which is a delicious alternative anyway using vegetables, and cheeses.

[Candy]

I make Patricia Well's Tomato Clafoutis every summer when the Romas ripen. Tomatoes are fruit as we all know. But this clafoutis is definitely savoury and not a fritatta. It does contain good Parmigiano Reggino, fresh thyme, eggs and cream and of course tomatoes. If anyone is interested I can paraphrase.

[h2o]

I would love to have the recipe, thanks!

[Candy]

Here it is:

You will need 2 lbs. fresh tomatoes. Romas are best but round will work. They will need to be cored, peeled amd quartered. Then place them on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with with salt and top with another paper towel. Set aside for up to an hour.

In a bowl combine 2 whole lg. eggs and an additional 2 yolks. Beat well and then beat in 1/3 C. heavy cream and 1/4 C. freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Season with a little salt and beat.

Place the tomatoes in one layey in an oven proof baking disn, I like to use an oval gratin...just personal preference. Pour the batter over the tomatoes and then sprinkle an additional 1/4 PR cheese over the top and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves that have been carefully stemmed. I like to use lemon thyme. But the thyme must be fresh not dried.

Theis with a crisp green salad and a crusty French baguette with some good French butter makes a delicious supper in high tomato time.

If you make it let me know how you like it.

Candy

[h2o]

Had all the ingredients. Was short one egg but mine were extra-large. Didn't have enough time to let the tomatoes sit so I roasted them with some garlic and evoo at 425 for about 10 minutes then added the batter (your recipe didn't call for flour but I added maybe 1-2T to it) and baked for about 30 minute at 350. Made a great easy dinner with a salad. Thanks again, I'll definitely make this again.

[MakingSense]

I'm a nobody, lacking any authority whatsoever to challenge someone of Patricia Wells' stature on what she chooses to name one dish that she includes in her book, but calling a savory flan or whatever it is a "clafoutis" begins to muddy the waters and make it more difficult to communicate.
Most people consider a clafoutis a sweet or slightly sweet custardy dish made with stone fruit. They commonly use other words for custardy or simple egg dishes, with or without cheese, made with savory ingredients. If there's a crust, it can be a quiche. No crust, maybe a savory flan. It there's a high proportion of solid ingredients, then a fritatta. Whip the egg whites, and there's a soufflé. Change languages and you're all over the world.
Knowing what words mean gives you the ability to communicate, ask other cooks for help, and learn from the body of knowledge already out there. It also allows people to start with basic master recipes so they're not flying blind. Not to say there's anything wrong with evolution or innovation but why reinvent the wheel?
Otherwise we contribute to these silly bru-shetta/bru-sketta/topping/bread/cracker arguments because words begin to lose their meaning.

[ChefJune]

You are absolutely right about mixing up names of dishes or techniques so that no one knows what's correct, MS, but in France, they DO make savory clafoutis as well as sweet ones.

(FWIW, the one that drives me insane is "Aioli!" no doubt about it, that is garlic mayo... not chipotle, not lemon, not any combination of flavors, just GARLIC! Why can't folks just call the rest what they are -- flavored mayo?)

[MakingSense]

Savory clafoutis is often referred to as "tian," the vegetable tart from around Nice, "clafoutian" or flan in some French cookbooks, and there are many vegetable versions. Yes, the recipes are virtually indistinguishable from clafoutis, but that pesky Académie Française rides herd on French in a way that no one does with American speech.

I think there's a difference between a cook who knows what a dish is and then alters it to please his own needs or tastes and a cook who never bothered to learn the basics. Why struggle with a "crustless quiche" when you can make a perfectly wonderful fritatta or flan? Heck, learn a few new recipes, techniques and words. Maybe it will start solving Aiolo problems.

[dbug31]

there's a term for such a thing that my first chef taught me 13 years ago:

bastardization

think I'll get flagged...? I hope not.

[chef chicklet]

Well Candy I sure am red faced! I am a huge tomato lover thank you for posting your recipe, I'll give it a try.

[MakingSense]

Since you don't like custard, Clafoutis may not be your thing anyway. Lots of people prefer other methods of using summer fruits and there's a Summer Fruit Cake recipe that's been popular on Chowhound for several years now - a little more cakey than custardy. This might save you the trouble of experimenting. Easy and really good http://www.chowhound.com/topics/279043

[Sarah McC]

Yes! This is exactly what I'm looking for to use with my fruit.

And the above suggestions for savory clafouti also sound great. It's a change-up from my summer frittatas. And everything is good with cheese added!

[brendastarlet]

No flaw, but you might consider steaming or sauteeing the veggies first, to get the water out and soften them up. I'd hate for you to have a crunchy flan.

Actually, a clafouti is supposed to come out the way you described it, essentially just a batter that holds the fruit in place. I would add another egg rather than more flour.

[MakingSense]

No flaw at all in your plan. You shouldn't even have to experiment.
Look for recipes for savory flans. In Italian, it's Sformato. In French, Italian or Spanish, they're all flan. Basically eggs with milk or cream. There's a sweet dessert version but also savory ones - and you can make them with a little cheese too. What many people call "crustless quiche." You can make them with almost any veggie. Small, individual size ones or a large one for the table.
Once you get a basic recipe, you can make them up as you go with any seasonal vegetable. They're just no longer clafouti.

[Candy]

I have a tomato clafouti recipe somewhere around here. I'll have to look for it. Tomatoes, fresh basil and thyme, grated parmigiano. Quite savoury. It is not so much cuastardy but more pancake like in texture. I make it almost every August when the toamtoes are at peat. Romas work best for it.