Apricot, Almond and Rosemary Clafoutis

Ingredients

75g caster sugar, plus extra to dust the dish
50g slivered almonds
150g dried apricots
125mL (1/2 cup) verjuice *
2 1/2 Tbs plain flour, sifted
4 Tbs (1/3 cup) milk
125mL (1/2 cup) thickened cream
3 free-range eggs
1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
250g creme fraiche, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a 500mL (2 cup) flan dish and dust with a little caster sugar. Spread the almonds on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, put the apricots in a saucepan with the verjuice and 125mL (1/2 cup) water. Place over medium–high heat, bring to simmering point and cook for 5 minutes, or until the apricots are plump and soft. Use a slotted spoon to remove the apricots from the liquid (keep this simmering), chop them roughly and put in a bowl. When the liquid has reduced to 2 tablespoons, add this to the apricots.

Put the flour and the 75g caster sugar in another bowl and whisk in the milk and cream. Add the eggs and rosemary and whisk until smooth. Spread the apricots over the base of the dish, then pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle the roasted almonds over the top.

Bake for 30–35 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving with creme fraiche.


* Verjuice is unripe grape juice and is used in similar ways to lemon juice or vinegar. It can be bought in supermarkets, delis and specialist food shops but, if you don’t have any, you could use white wine vinegar.


BACKGROUND:


Most of us remember being told to eat up at the dinner table 'because there are people starving in the world'. Some of us also remember cheekily offering to put our peas into an envelope to post to them. It takes a very special sort of person to take that idea and turn it into a living, breathing organisation that feeds thousands of people every day.

Credits: Maggie Beer in The OzHarvest Cookbook