Savoury Clafoutis with Salmon, Brie and Cherry Tomatoes

Paul Robinson, the self-taught cook, food writer, rambler and photographer behind @yorkshiregourmet, shares his favourite 'brunch for dinner' recipe - savoury clafoutis.

Words and images by Paul Robinson

A savoury clafoutis is like a posh baked omelette but requires a bit more effort than your usual omelette.

I like to use good eggs, such as Burford Browns (available in Sainsburys and Tesco), with Bleiker’s Peat Smoked Salmon. Bleiker’s smokehouse is located in the Dales, they smoke Scottish salmon over natural Yorkshire peat and oak shavings, similar to some Scottish smoked salmon I once tried on the Isle of Skye, it’s really good and you can buy it from their website. 

Lord of the Hundreds is one my favourite cheeses, hands down. It’s a semi-hard cheese made in East Sussex from raw sheep’s milk, the flavour is nutty and grassy and it’s also a great substitute to Parmesan. You can order it online. 

Barncliffe Brie is a local cheese from Shelley near Huddersfield, it’s beautifully mellow and creamy, as you’d expect of a good brie. So, the two types of cheese are a good contrast with the smoked salmon and the cherry tomatoes balance everything with a sweet flavour burst and good cooking as I always say is all about balance of flavour. You can buy it via their website.

If you can’t source any of these ingredients, simply use an alternative smoked salmon, parmesan instead of the Lord of the Hundreds and an alternative brie in place of the Barncliffe Brie.

Savoury Clafoutis

Ingredients:

• 10g salted butter
• 50g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs and 2 yolks
• 250ml milk
• 250ml crème fraiche
• 10g cornflour
• 100g smoked salmon
• 60g hard sheep's milk cheese
• 60g brie
• 100g cherry tomatoes
• A small bunch of chives, finely chopped
• A pinch of salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

What you'll need:

Two 18cm diameter cast iron pans or circular baking dishes (approx. 3.5cm depth and 400ml capacity).

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C (fan-assisted) / Gas Mark 6.

• Make sure the pans (or baking dishes) are well greased with the butter then scatter all of the breadcrumbs evenly. This may seem to be a lot of breadcrumbs but they give the clafoutis a fluffy baked texture, different to an omelette.
• Prepare the clafoutis ingredients: Flake the salmon into pieces, slice the cherry tomatoes in half, dice the cheese into small 1cm cubes and slice the brie into thin strips.
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks with the milk, crème fraiche and chives then whisk in the cornflour. Season with smoked sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper then whisk again. Try not to over whisk these ingredients.
• Pour the egg and milk mixture evenly into the two baking dishes then add the smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes and cheese evenly between them.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the oven until the clafoutis look well risen and golden. Garnish each clafoutis with a few sprigs of watercress.

Paul Robinson of Yorkshire Gourmet

We chatted all things brunch with Paul in our latest edition of Pillowtalk.

Read it here.