Guest Post: Mushroom and Bacon Clafoutis by eat. live. travel. write.
We have a guest in the kitchen! We welcome Mardi of eat. live. travel. write. back to the blog, with another French-inspired dish. We have no doubt that this simple and light dish will become a new go-to weeknight favourite.
Clafoutis is a dish that is typically sweet – fruit (generally cherries), baked in custard that hails from the Limousin region of France. But recently, I’ve re-discovered savoury versions (I’ve made a few before but not for ages). Our local butcher in France also sells a small variety of prepared dishes and on my second day here, severely jetlagged and sleep deprived, I was searching for something quick to prepare that, well I didn’t have to prepare and a zucchini clafoutis caught my eye. I was pleasantly surprised with the high ratio of vegetables to custard an how it was so tasty both warmed up and cold.
I immediately began experimenting and it’s become my “go to” for light dinners that pair beautifully with fresh vegetables or salads. It’s also a no-fuss meal that comes together in minutes and doesn’t require the oven to be on for hours so it checks all the boxes in the “summer dinner” category. Today I’m sharing a favourite flavour combination – mushrooms and bacon with just a touch of cheese. For a gluten-free version, you could use GF flour and to make this vegetarian, simply sub in another vegetable, diced small, for the bacon. Once you’ve made one of these, the possibilities (both sweet and savoury) are endless!
Bon appétit!
Mushroom and Bacon Clafoutis
Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Serves: 2 (as a main)
Ingredients
2 slices bacon, roughly chopped
60g white mushrooms, roughly chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence or thyme
1/2 cup (60 mL) milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (20 g) grated Swiss cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 sprigs fresh thyme, for garnish
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375˚F. Lightly grease 2 ramekins (mine were 12 cm in diameter and 3 cm high with a 160 mL/ 2/3 cup capacity) and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
2. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the bacon and mushrooms to the skillet and cook over medium heat until they start to colour slightly, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the Herbes de Provence and pepper, remove from the heat and divide between the ramekins.
4. Whisk the milk and egg together until combined, add the cheese and flour and whisk until smooth.
5. Divide the custard between the ramekins.
7. Bake at 375˚F for 25 minutes until the custard is puffed and slightly golden.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
~~~~~
This savoury take on such a delightful dish would be a wonderful starter for a dinner party! Time to start planning! As always, a big thanks to Mardi for sharing such a lovely meal idea.
Don’t forget to follow along with Mardi online at eat. live. travel. write. and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.
