Quick batter properly exploits that incredible local fruit you bought with the best intentions then forgot

Tactical recipes are the answer to a particular dilemma. This time of year, with Western New York’s finest fruit peaking, you need to know about clafoutis. 

Say cla-footie like the French do and voila, you have the answer to a pile of ripe fruit about to go into the compost heap. Despite your earnest efforts to get more local produce into your diet, the impulse buy of a basket of nectarines ran afoul of the reality of your life. 

Don’t chuck them. Whip up a quick batter, slip them in the oven, and any meal, day or night, will be bettered by clafoutis. 

The riper the better. More fruit nectar to drain into the thickening custard. 

Any stone fruit seems to work – and Concord grapes, too. Just wash them, toss them into a buttered baking dish. Then whip, pour, bake, dollop, and away you go. Do wash and remove pits from peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, and cherries, though. Rhubarb works, too.

The French like to leave the pits in, arguing that it adds more flavor. They are correct. They also have free dental coverage.

Classic clafoutis adds a dash of flavored spirits to amp up the flavor – kirsch for cherry clafoutis, for example. Mine leaves it out, for simplicity, and there have never been leftovers.

More fruit? More batter, and a wider pan. A single batch fits nicely in a 9-inch pie dish, a double in an 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Plan with leftovers in mind, as clafoutis reheats nicely, and can ably serve breakfast needs as well as dinner dessert.

If you can melt butter, turn on an oven, and whisk batter, you got this.

Tactical clafoutis

Inspired by Daniel Gritzer’s Serious Eats version

Ingredients

½ cup flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 pound fruit, more or less

Steps

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Butter baking dish. Arrange fruit evenly.

Put flour and sugar into a big mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and melted butter.

Whisk until smooth. Pour over fruit. Put dish in oven.

Check at 45 minutes. Decide if it’s browned enough. Pull it out to cool if you prefer it on the pale, custardy side.

Bake until firm and brown as you like, then remove to cool.

Powdered sugar and whipped cream can add to the party, but aren’t necessary for the music to get you moving.

#30#