Cherry Tomato Clafoutis

- Jenny

So to be fair, dinner expectations get a little lowered when you hear your spouse scream from the kitchen: “Can I get a little help here? My clafoutis is on fire!”

But the road to culinary recovery is often difficult and fire-singed, an effort of multiple attempts and perhaps even a few tears, all in the name of perfecting a single dish. The fact is, as easy as it sounded on paper, and as excited as I was to make use of the cherry tomatoes that had popped up in my garden during my two-week vacation in the west, Cherry Tomato Clafoutis did not work out on my first try.

The egg mixture was more scrambled eggs than custard -- perhaps due to undercooking -- and had a weird metallic aftertaste -- this I cannot explain -- and the whole effort seems to lack any cohesive flavor. It was all texture -- eggy, chunky, slippery (tomatoes) -- without any real lingering pleasure. “I don’t know what it wants to be,” said my husband, rather sadly, as this was our first home cooked meal in weeks. (Also: I was not involving the salad, as I had none of the ingredients in my garden, which was picked over with my blessing by my housesitter, whose results are astoundingly documented here.)

I have conquered Beef Bourguignon! I have been known to take on marzipan! I would not be undone by eggs.

Back in the kitchen a few days later, I began with a fresh car ton of eggs, as much a nod to superstition as freshness. I even got some new flour. As an experiment, I cut some of the tomatoes in half, just to see if that helped. I then ran outside and grabbed my new favorite weed -- that would be basil -- and put eight or nine leaves with the tomatoes in the bottom of my oval dish. After dumping my egg mixture on, I dotted the whole thing with a hard goat cheese, rather than the soft stuff, which I thought might yield something better than the cheese blobs of the last effort.

After about 25 minutes, I turned on the broiler and finished the dish under that flame, but was distracted for a few minutes by the press release wrath of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, which led to a teeny tiny oven fire that you should NOT be worrying yourself about. Caramelized edges. Okay black.

No matter, the results were so delicious -- a firm custard that still yielded easily to my fork, succulent tomatoes with a little basil and cheese zing. My husband agreed, then added, “Um, did you just eat half a claufoutis that was meant for four?” Well, this is Washington. Everyone’s interpretation of numbers is different.

Cherry Tomato Clafoutis by Meredith Shanley

Serves 4 for lunch

Cherry Tomato Clafoutis:

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 12-14 cherry tomatoes
• 2 ounces goat cheese

Herb "Salad":

• 2 handfuls fresh basil, chiffonade
• 2 handfuls fresh parsley, rough chop
• 3 tablespoons fresh tarragon, rough chop
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• 2 (drizzles around bowl) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 turns fresh cracked black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350, liberally butter a ceramic or glass baking dish (preferably round or oval) Ask a question about this step.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and cream. Add salt, pepper, and flour, whisk until just combined. Ask a question about this step.
3. Place tomatoes into buttered baking dish, spread evenly. Pour custard mixture over top. Ask a question about this step.
4. Dot with goat cheese. Bake in oven until puffed and lightly browned, about 30-35 minutes. Ask a question about this step.
5. Once clafoutis is out of oven, toss together herb salad (make sure to do this at the last minute so the herbs are not wilted). Serve each slice of clafoutis topped with herb salad.

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By day, Jennifer Steinhauer, aka Jenny, covers Congress for The New York Times. By night, she is an obsessive cook.

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