Meatless Monday: Blackberry Clafoutis

Happy Meatless Monday!

Today, I'm going back to dessert-land and bringing you another recipe sure to satisfy your sweet tooth without expanding your waistline.  This recipe is inspired by the baked French dessert usually made with cherries and a flan-like batter called "clafoutis."  I substituted blackberries (which have been wonderful lately) for the cherries (not in season yet), but raspberries would be wonderful, too.  I also used an unsweetened almond milk in place of milk (no lactose and healthier) and a whole grain spelt flour (more fiber and nutrients).

The resulting dessert had both Kuzak and me licking our plates and hungrily dividing up the remaining dessert for the next day!  The lemon zest and fresh blackberries really stood out, making this an irresistible dish.  Not only is this a cinch to make, as desserts go, it's relatively healthy--low in sugar, high in protein and with lots of fresh fruit.  I'd even eat it for breakfast!!

Blackberry Clafoutis (Adapted From "Food & Wine" April 2010)
Serves 6 people
Cooking time: 50 minutes (includes baking time)

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole grain flour (I used spelt flour)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 pints fresh blackberries
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9-inch gratin dish.  In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt.  Whisk in the eggs, butter and lemon zest until smooth.  Add the milk and whisk until light and very smooth (about 3 minutes).  Pour the batter into the gratin dish and top with the blackberries.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the clafoutis is set and golden.  Let cool slightly.  Dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into wedges.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
organic eggs from Healthy Family Farms, CSA (Hollywood Farmers Market)

fresh blackberries, unsweetened almond milk, organic unsalted butter, organic lemons and organic sugar from Trader Joe's

organic whole grain spelt flour from Whole Foods

Wine Pairing
With this dinner (for our main course, we had a Braised Bison Stew With Spring Greens), we drank a Tablas Creek 2005 Antithesis.  The wine is made from one hundred percent Chardonnay grapes and has a very Burgundian style, which was fitting for these two recipes which were created by two Burgundy winemakers. This crisp white wine worked beautifully with both dishes!