clafoutis!

Ah, Spring. It's so lovely to go to the Friday marché and see tables laden with gorgeous fruits and veggies. I don't go every week, but rather when I need to go. My routine is to get a rotisserie chicken for Friday lunch, then make chicken stock with the rest. The stock goes in the freezer and the rest of the meat becomes chicken salad. When I run out of chicken stock, I start over.

Last Friday I was out of chicken stock and very happy to throw Fry (who currently has three teeth coming in at the same time so we're having some real party times around here) in the stroller and head on down to the market. I love going to market and getting inspired by all the produce that's in season. The problem is that what's in season this week might not be in season next time I go, so if I see something that peaks my interest I have to grab it. This time it was great big giant gumball sized cherries.

So I snacked on a couple over the weekend, cut up one really small for Fry to try (that didn't go over too great), and the rest went into a clafoutis, a traditional custard and fruit dessert. It came out pretty good, if not a little burny thanks to our EZ Bake Oven (no temperature control settings). Here's the recipe I used, taken from a French cooking forum:

Clafoutis aux cerises



400-500 g (about half a pound) cherries
3 eggs
100 g (just under a cup) flour
80 g (3/8 cup) sugar
2 sachets of sucre vanillé or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
30 cl (1 1/4 cups) milk or 25 cl (1 cup) milk and a tablespoon of kirsch
powdered sugar
butter for greasing the pan

1) Wash, cut in half and pit cherries. Cover with half the sugar and let macerate for half an hour.

2) Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

3) In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, the rest of the sugar and the sucré vanillé. (If you're using vanilla extract, wait for the next step.)

4) In another bowl, beat the eggs, add [the vanilla extract if you're using it and] the flour mixture. Mix well. Add the milk and stir until smooth.

5) Place the cherries in the greased baking dish and slowly pour the batter over the cherries. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

6) Let the clafoutis cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bon appétit !