Little eggy whatsits

As far as I'm concerned, clafouti is just a fancy way of saying quiche + cream. It's the same basic formula: eggs, plus whatever add-ins you want, plus oven time = tasty. And, as with most things, they get exponentially cuter and more interesting when made in -mini form.

For my canning soiree on Saturday, I swiped this recipe from an old Fine Cooking Appetizers special I swiped from my mother-in-law. So I'm just a swiper, all-around. Here's the recipe.

Miniature Savory Clafoutis

2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup corn starch

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl (or better yet, a four-cup liquid measuring cup), gradually whisk the corn starch into one cup of the milk. When it's thoroughly combined (no lumps), add the rest of the liquid ingredients, whisking enthusiastically for a minute or two.

Grease the heck out of a mini-muffin tin. Or better yet, two, if you have them. I didn't.

Into each mini muffin cup, add the following:
1/2 tsp grated or crumbled cheese of your choosing
a pinch of fresh minced herb
a "tidbit" of some kind

The recipe suggests a few different tidbit ideas, among them half an olive, a teaspoon of crumbled bacon, or a bit of roasted red pepper. But really, there's no reason to get fancy. I used kale. Yep, about as rustic and unglamorous a vegetable as you can get, that's what I used. They were delicious all the same.

I was going for something spanakopita-esque, so I used dill and feta for my herb and cheese. The kale subbed really nicely for spinach, and that was that. Okay, but back to the recipe.

Once you've cheese- herb- and tidbitted- your muffin tins, pour in enough batter to come just shy of the rim. *Note: before pouring your batter, it might be a good idea to whisk the batter briefly, as the cornstarch will sink upon standing. Add a sprinkling of black pepper to the tops (if you wish) and into the oven they go.

Bake 15-18 minutes on the top rack of the oven, until golden-brown on top.

Let the pan cool on a rack for twenty minutes before carefully removing the clafoutis. I found a plastic knife worked well. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Enjoy!