Summer Berries
I’M ALL ABOUT THE BERRIES right now. Strawberries and raspberries at the same time. I’m in heaven. Summer has landed. It took a while, they took another month, but they’re the sweetest deal in the ground.
Poking around under leaves to find the reddest berries, we’re five years old again, filled with simple pleasures and wonder. Even the not wanting to share part. In my case, I have turned to threatening my children if they even look sideways at the plants as they go by. I’m that serious. But just until I see that there will be plenty to go around. The last thing I want to deal with is waiting patiently for the berries to ripen to the point of perfection, going out to the garden to collect them, just to find that someone has been there before me and plucked them away. Hey, I’m in the kitchen cooking for them! Of course, as time goes by and the berries continue to come forth, I return to normal and share.
I have three year old raspberry vines growing against the south facing garage wall with a patch of strawberries at their base. They are all benefiting from a drip system this year, and although the weather delayed their ripening, it’s a good crop. Last year I was out of town when most ripened and I suffered greatly, missing that delightful experience. I planned better this year, and have obviously been paying close attention to the lovely supply.
And although there’s really no recipe that comes close to the instant pleasure of just popping them into your mouth warm off the vine, this one has some merit. I have been making raspberry clafouti for years. My family fell in love with this recipe while on vacation in Idaho years ago. We were staying on a ranch at the base of the Grand Tetons. The house had a lodge like feel, pine paneled walls, high ceilings with exposed beams, stone fireplaces, racks of antlers on the walls, feather beds and large decks. Surrounding the house was about an acre of lawn with a beautiful flower garden on one end. The garden was laced by mature raspberry vines that provided us with a generous supply every morning. Five year old Emmy and I would carry our kitchen bowls, barefoot out across the cool grass while the sun was still low, and gather just enough to make clafouti.
Raspberry Clafouti
(a cross between a custard and an oven pancake)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup milk
splash of vanilla or almond extract
1/4 cup plus 2T. sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 pint fresh raspberries (or blueberries, blackberries, marionberries or cherries)
Set the oven to 375
Put the butter in an oven proof saute pan and place the pan in the oven while it is warming. You will be adding the melted butter to the finished batter. I mix the batter in a bowl by hand, but you could use a blender as it can get a bit lumpy.
Add the eggs and yolk to the milk in the liquid measure. Use a fork to break up the eggs and stir them well into the milk. Add the extract to the milk as well. Put the 1/4 cup of sugar and flour into a medium sized bowl, stir together and slowly add the liquids, whisking well and getting out any lumps. Check that the butter is melted, then carefully add it to the batter, whisking continually. Scatter the berries over the bottom of the pan and sprinkle them with the remaining sugar. Pour the batter evenly over the berries and place the pan back into the oven. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. The clafouti should puff up a bit and the edges should be golden. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before serving-the fruit is very hot inside and can burn your mouth if you don’t want to wait! Enjoy! Remember to stick an oven mitt over the end of the hot handle.
Photos by Jeff Freeman