Smoky Bacon, Pepper & Courgette Clafoutis

Originally a classical French sweet pudding made with black cherries, prunes or other suitable fruits in season. This pudding, originally a sweet treat, has conveniently been converted into a savoury dish.  Why not, it works.  It can easily be made into a complete vegetarian course by adding cheese instead of the smoky bacon.  No matter what you choose to use to create this dish, savoury or sweet, the end result will be light, fluffy and a delicious pudding.

Batter Ingredients
220 g gluten free flour (sifted buckwheat flour was used for this recipe)
1 tsp  sea salt
4 medium eggs
3 rashers bacon (cut into pieces)
300 ml milk
300 ml water
3 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tsp wholegrain mustard

Filling
1 red pepper (sliced length ways)
3 Courgettes (ends trimmed, sliced length ways)
2 tablespoons spring onions (2 cm pieces)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preparation Time:     30 minutes (Approximately)
Cooking Time:      40 minutes (Approximately)
Serves:     6-8 (Approximately)

Preheat the oven to 200°C for at least 10 to 15 minutes.  Baking dish 30 cm x 20 cm or other dish of similar size.

1. Place all the ingredients for the batter together in a blender until smooth, then allow to rest for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a ridged griddle over medium heat.  Brush one side of the courgette slices with oil, season and grill for about 3 minutes until lightly coloured.  Brush the top side with oil, turn, and grill this side for about 2 minutes.  They need to colour, without being too dark, since they will colour further in the oven.  Repeat this until you have cooked all the courgettes.
3. While the batter is resting heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the pepper slices. Fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly coloured and not too dark. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. In the same pan add the bacon and fry for 8-9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until coloured and not too dark. Remove from the pan and place aside.
5. Halfway through resting the batter, place 2 tablespoons of oil in  a baking dish and heat this in the oven for 10 minutes.  Pour the batter into a bowl and stir in the chives and half the bacon.  Pour this into the dish, then scatter over the courgette slices, pushing down so about half of them are submerged.  Then scatter the capsicum in between the courgettes and the remaining bacon. Bake for 30 minutes, until the batter has risen and is golden in colour.  Serve immediately.

Cook’s Tips

For a vegetarian option leave out the bacon and replace with a cheese of your choice such as goats cheese, tasty cheese, Gruyere and cut into cubes.  For this recipe the courgettes were large.  I cut them in half and then sliced length ways.

Plain flour works very well for this recipe it gives a light, fluffy consistency however, you may wish to experiment with other flour types as I did on this occasion.

You may choose to make a fruit Clafoutis with seasonal fruits available.

Enjoy!