Sugar-Free Clafoutis

Blueberry Clafoutis

I remember the first time I tried Clafoutis. "Cla - what now?" was my first thought. But one bite and I was a believer!

Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert, a cross between an egg-y pancake and a coffee cake, loaded with lovely fresh fruit. In Limousin, the region of its origin, fresh cherries are used, pits and all. Equally delicious are blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apricots, pears or plums. Served warm, it is perfect for dessert, breakfast, or afternoon tea, and comes together with ease and speed, and very few dirty dishes.

One day I just had a flash of inspiration - what if I made this (sugar-free, of course!) with coconut flour? Lately I've been experimenting with coconut flour, an ingredient with many possibilities. It is very smooth and fine, super high in fiber, and pleasantly sweet tasting. Being so high in fiber, it absorbs moisture like crazy, so when substituting for wheat flour, you need to use a smaller amount of coconut flour. I played with the proportions, and the first batch was fantastic, right off. (I can't always count on that.)

There's only one problem with this recipe .... it's gone in a flash. My daughter and I ate a whole batch of this, made with blueberries, for breakfast last week. Fortunately, it's so fast and easy, I'll just make another one!

Sugar-Free Clafoutis

1 pound berries, or 1 1/4 pound of other firm fruits, as listed above, pitted and sliced

1/4 cup sugar substitute (I like Swerve)

2 TB coconut sugar (optional, but delicious - very low glycemic)

1 cup whole milk (or coconut, almond or other milk, or substitute 50% of it with heavy cream)

The immersion blender is the perfect tool.

4 large eggs

¼ cup coconut flour + 2 TB

¼ tsp salt

3 TB unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 TB vanilla

1). Pre-heat oven to 400 F

2). Butter shallow 2 quart baking dish or pie pan generously

3). In a blender, food processor, or, if using an immersion blender, a bain Marie, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt, butter, vanilla, and sugar. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

4). Sprinkle the fruit over the bottom of the baking dish, then pour batter over it.

5) . Bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 45 minutes

This batch was made with full cream coconut milk - delicious!

 

Serve warm

Sugar-Free Clementine Cake

My friend Shiela is very fond of the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, in which, interestingly, Clementine Cake is featured prominently. After multiple viewings, she became so intrigued with the idea of this cake that she Googled it, immediately found a great recipe from The New York Times, baked it, and raved about it. I have never seen the movie, but when she described the recipe to me, I knew immediately that it was a winner, and one that I could easily adapt to sugar-free goodness. The results? Oh, this is good. The crumb is moist, the flavor intense, the crust chewy.... Excellent for breakfast or afternoon tea; full of protein and fiber. I can see making this into individual tea cakes, too....

Sugar-Free Clementine Cake

Adapted from The New York Times

• 5 medium clementines or tangerines (1 pound)
• Spray cooking oil
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar substitute (I am loving Swerve!)  
  ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups almond flour or meal (Bob's Redmill and Trader Joe's are great sources)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  

 

Poached Clementines

PREPARATION

1. Place whole unpeeled clementines in a medium-sized sauce pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 2 hours, adding more water as needed. Remove clementines with a slotted spoon and, once cool enough to handle, halve and remove any seeds or other hard bits. Purée in a food processor, immersion or conventional blender and set aside. (May be done up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking oil, line bottom with parchment paper and spray paper with oil.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together with the melted butter, sugar substitute, salt and clementine purée. Add the almond flour and baking powder and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake until edges are golden brown and starting to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Transfer to wire rack set over baking sheet. After 10 minutes, run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; remove cake from pan. Peel off parchment paper and return cake to wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with dusting of powdered sugar or with chocolate glaze or candied clementines, or both.

More Meatballs: Your Choice - Lamb, Pork or Beef

Lamb Meatballs

I am in love with the lamb meatball recipe from Nigella Lawson that I found online.  I am so in love with it that I went right ahead and invented a new version of them within days of having made the lamb meatballs, using ground pork.  Of course, having just purchased a whole steer from my rancher friend Mary Pettis-Sarley barngoddess@dishmail.net, I had a whole shelf in the freezer full of the best hamburger ever. I had to design beef meatballs. 

What is it about these that makes them so very, very good?  I believe it's the use of semolina flour.  Semolina, a special variety of high-gluten wheat, is typically used to make pasta.  I keep it on hand for use in gnocchi a la Romana. In the Bay Area, you can purchase it in a well-stocked grocery store such as Country Cheese or Berkeley Bowl.  However, if you can't find it or don't have it on hand, panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), or regular breadcrumbs ought to do just fine.

Unlike many meatball recipes, which call for dipping the meatballs in egg and then breading them, this one just calls for mixing in the semolina and allowing the mix to sit while the semolina absorbs the moisture in the meat and egg, followed by pan-frying.  They fry up beautifully; crispy on the outside, tender in the middle.  Yummy.

Pork Meatballs Frying - they are as delicious as they look!

Pork Meatballs

1 lb ground pork
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg/ 1/2 of a nutmeg, ground
2-3 cloves minced/pressed garlic
3 TB semolina (or breadcrumbs or panko if you can't find it)
OR 2 TB coconut flour (low carb)
1 large egg, lightly whisked

makes 16 meatballs

Lamb Meatballs:  Nigella Lawson

1 lb ground lamb
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions or finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons semolina
OR 2 TB coconut flour (low carb, high fiber)
1 large egg, lightly whisked

Beef Meatballs
1 lb beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 freshly grated nutmeg
3 TB semolina (or breadcrumbs or panko if you can't find it)
OR 2 TB coconut flour (low carb, high fiber)
1 large egg, lightly whisked
 2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions and/or finely chopped yellow onion


For either recipe, combine all of the ingredients well, mixing with your hands to make sure that the spices are evenly distributed.  Allow the mixture to sit for half an hour, then form into 16 or so meatballs and place them on a large plate.  (Wetting your hands to prevent the meat from sticking to your hands as you roll them works well, as does using disposable food service gloves.)

When they are all rolled, heat up about 1-2 TB of olive oil or drippings in a large, cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the meatballs.  Be careful not to crowd them; crowding causes them to cook up grey rather than crispy and brown.  If you have a very large pan, you can do them all in one batch.  Otherwise, you can use two frying pans or fry them in batches.  Cook them until crispy and brown, then turn and repeat on all of the sides.  Serve them with well seasoned brown rice.

For an easy pan sauce for the lamb meatballs, squeeze the juice of one half of a fresh Meyer lemon into the frying pan, combine well with the drippings, and serve over brown rice, bulgur wheat or couscous.