Apple Clafoutis
With the great fanfare that savory foods get from me during the holidays, I like desserts to offer a hint of sweetness but ultimately be either very light, or quite small. From my Casual Cooking cookbook (Chronicle 2002) comes this airy Apple Clafoutis, a french-country farmers favorite. Best made in a cast-iron pan with local apples and farm-fresh eggs. I'm using Apple's from The Schmitt's Philo Apple Farm.
And to spruce up the timeless pumpkin pie, serve it in mini ramekins and brulee the top with your torch. A party favorite, the act of torching any food brings an element of intrigue to your guests, and keeps even the most die-hard Thanksgiving cook from the tedium of the same old pie.
To make the most of the most of the holidays with friends and loved ones, slow down the process, make fewer things more enjoyable, reach out to local purveyors and farmers to use what is fresh and in season. You'll be a happier cook and a better guest at your table!
~ Michael Chiarello
APPLE CLAFOUTIS Michael Chiarello's CASUAL COOKING Serves: 6
Ingredients
Batter:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup milk
Apples:
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apple (1/2-inch dice; about 1 large apple)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grappa, Calvados, or other fruit brandy
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
1/3 cup crème fraîche
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Make the batter: Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and milk until well blended. Add about one-third of the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to form a paste, then gradually incorporate the remaining egg mixture. Whisk until well blended.
Cook the apples: With the tip of a knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod into an ovenproof 10-inch cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet. Add the pod and the butter and cook over moderately high heat until the butter turns nut brown. Add the apple and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes to soften them. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Sprinkle the apples with the granulated sugar, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook until the apples are about three-fourths done and the sugar has melted and is coating the apples in a light syrup. Add the grappa or other brandy, swirl the pan briefly, then spread the fruit evenly in the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat. Working quickly, pour the batter through a sieve evenly over the fruit. Bake until the edges of the clafouti are puffed and browned and the center is set, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Put some confectioners' sugar in a sieve and generously dust the surface of the clafouti. Serve warm directly from the pan with a dollop of crème fraîche.