Leek & Bacon Clafoutis

One of my favorite savory recipes from Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking is her Leek Tart (Flamiche aux Poireaux) recipe, which I've adapted over the years. It occurred to me that a slightly less caloric and slightly easier approach might be to turn it into clafoutis. I made this yesterday and all of us loved it! I didn't have any leeks, so I used onion. The secret is lots of freshly-grated nutmeg.

INGREDIENTS
1 very large onion OR
2-3 leeks, white and light green parts only
2-3 slices bacon (we use high-quality pepper bacon)
freshly-ground nutmeg
1-2 TBSP butter
6 large eggs (I ended up using 7 since we're overloaded with eggs and it was fine)
1 cup milk
2/3 cup all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
pinch salt
pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and butter a 10.5 inch ceramic baking dish or pie plate (we use an oval ceramic dish and it works great)
  2. Dice the onion. If using leeks, clean thoroughly and cut into half moons
  3. Cut the bacon pieces into matchsticks width-wise (lardons)
  4. Cook bacon in a medium to large skillet over medium high heat until the fat renders and the bacon is a little crispy
  5. Add the onion/leeks and lots of freshly-grated nutmeg
  6. Cook until very tender (10-12 minutes probably) then put the mixture in the bottom of your baking dish
  7. Melt butter and set aside
  8. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until it is frothy. Slowly add the milk, flour, salt, pepper (if not using pepper bacon), yet more freshly-grated nutmeg and melted butter. Make sure it is well mixed.
  9. Pour batter over the onions/leeks. Bake until the clafoutis is set (puffed and golden), about 30-35 minutes.
  10. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Delicious warm or cold

Comments

Tamijo said…
YUM! I made this for breakfast this morning. Last night, I cooked the bacon & leeks and mixed the egg custard. So, this morning all I had to do was turn the oven on, pour the custard over the bacon/leeks and pop it in the oven. Sophie LOVED it! It will be great for leftovers. I think I might add a little grated cheese on top for some added yumminess. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sara said…
I tried putting a little swiss cheese on top of the bacon/leeks before pouring the custard over and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe.

For my vegetarian daughter, I just cooked some of the onion in butter instead of with the bacon and then made her her own separate dish. She liked it too.
stacey said…
I finally made my first clafoutis the other day - this one! It was a half-claf, actually, which was perfect for the two of us for dinner with a salad. I put it in an 8-inch cake pan, and it worked well. How easy and delightful! I'm going to have to start improvising...