Roasted Windfall Clafouti

Sorry I've been a bit of a slacker; we've been away for a couple of weeks visiting family and friends all over the place.

My friend Diane gave us a bag of windfalls but looking at them when I got home I didn't fancy peeling them – fiddly little buggers! 

I decided to try roasting them.  At first I thought I’d add a little butter but was worried it would burn. Then I thought I might add a little regular olive oil (which is what I cook with) but thought it might taste wrong.  In the end I decided to add nothing and it worked.

~   Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC/170ºC fan/gas 5.

~   Don’t peel the apples but cut into chunks, discarding any rotten bits (obviously) and the cores (after having a nibble).

~   Lay the apple pieces in a single layer skin side down.

~   When the oven is hot roast the apples till they are turning golden and they are tender when pierced with a knife.  About 20 minutes.

Whilst I was thinking what to do with them I ate some Cambazola and Roasted Apples on Toasted  Ciabatta for a sudden lunch which worked very well. 

My next idea was …

Roasted Apple Clafouti

~   Make one batch of the Yorkshire pudding batter here but add ½ tbsp sugar.

~   And allow to rest for an hour or so.

~   Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC/200ºC fan/gas 7.

~   When the oven is hot put a knob of butter in a shallow ovenproof dish and pop it into the oven for a minute to melt.

~   Arrange the cooked apples in the dish according to your whim. Sprinkle with sugar and return to the oven just to heat the apples through.

~   Pour the batter over the apples and bake (without opening the door for at least 10 minutes) until risen and a deep golden brown which takes about 15 minutes.

~   Serve immediately with cream.

Playing with Yorkshire Puddings!

This quantity of batter would make enough Clafouti for three or four but as there was just us two I decided to hold back a bit and play with it.  I made three little testers →

In each case I heated a little wincy bit of oil in a silicone muffin case, poured in the batter and then added, granola, chopped chocolate or chopped pecans.  The chocolate sank but the other two floated.  All three were good but the pecan variety with maple syrup was our favourite.

With both the Clafouti and the experiments we had a damn fine lunch pudding and it cost very little indeed – the batter uses 1 tablespoon of flour, ½ tablespoon sugar (for sweet dishes), 1 egg and a little milk and it is a great vehicle for all sorts of leftovers when trying to be economical (or when not!).

I have plans for the rest of the roasted windfalls which include adding them to gravy next time my real man has pork, bacon and apple sandwiches, maybe a cake and so on.

More ideas for apples can be found here.