Sunday Brunch Menu
Spanish Tortilla, Cherry Clafoutis, and a big Cheese Plate
Trying to find a time to get together with my two best friend’s and all our kids is not an easy task between everyone’s busy schedule and the variety of nap times at play. We orchestrated a hang out last Sunday morning. I made brunch at my house. As you’ve read so many times before here: The menu was based on what I had leftover from a shoot plus things that could be prepped almost to completion ahead of time. The food was a hit and super easy. Here’s what I made and how I did it.
The Menu:
Cheese Plate with Crackers
Fruit (we were so lucky to have fresh figs)
Spanish Tortilla with Homemade Saffron Aioli
Cherry Clafoutis with Yogurt & Maple Syrup
Spanish Tortilla:
Spanish tortilla is a very traditional dish from Spain. It’s like a frittata but the ingredients are typically limited to eggs, onions and potatoes. It’s often served room temp as a tapa. I used Ferran Andria’s Potato Chip Tortilla Espanola recipe. It uses potato chips (which I had from a shoot) as the potato element and it’s freaking fantastic. The only other ingredients I used were olive oil, scallions and eggs. I served mine with saffron garlic aioli, which is optional but really brings it to the next level. Whatever aioli you have leftover makes an amazing chicken salad, egg salad or simply spread on a sandwich.
I cracked all the eggs into a bowl and sliced the scallions the night before
I made the aioli the day before
I set out the pan I’d need plus the serving platter the night before
Saffron Garlic Aioli:
1 egg (best quality you can get)
tiny pinch of saffron (maybe 1/4 tsp.)
tiny bit of grated raw garlic (about 1/4 tsp.)
pinch of kosher salt (1/4-1/2 tsp.)
zest of half a lime or lemon
juice of half a lime or lemon
1/2 cup neutral oil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Place that all in a jar that is wide enough to fit the head of an immersion blender. Cup the immersion blender over the egg yolk and turn it on. Move the blender up and down to incorporate the oil. You should see it emulsifying and becoming thick right away. If it becomes too thick add water 1/2 tsp. at a time. Taste it for salt level and to see if it needs more lemon juice.
As the aioli sits you may see spots of orange in it. That is bits of saffron. Simply mix it and they will dissolve.
Cherry Clafoutis
Klah-Foo-Tee. Fancy word, VERY simple recipe. Essentially clafoutis is a baked pancake and you can use any type of fruit. Cherry is traditional but berries, stone fruits, even bananas would work. It’s wonderfully custardy, sweet and is lovely with a dollop of yogurt and maple syrup. A real excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. The batter is made in a blender, can be made the night before, kept right in the blender in the refrigerator and poured over the cherries before you bake. You can also butter the dish, pop the cherries in there and leave that in the refrigerator overnight. It even tastes great at room temp! My recipe for Cherry Clafoutis is at the bottom of this email and is visible to paying subscribers. A paid subscription is $5/month or $40/year. You will be able to access all past and future subscriber recipes and you can cancel at any time.
What I’m Loving This Week:
Ossau Iraty Cheese: My goodness have I found a cheese made for ME. I discovered this sheep’s milk cheese by chance on Fresh Direct. It’s a semi-soft cheese from the Basque region of France and it has the most PERFECT level of funkiness - which gets even more funky closer to rind. MMmmmMMM. I’m in love. If you see it at a well stocked store, take a chance and buy it.
My local thrift store: I am by no means a newbie to thrifting. Vintage clothing and thrifting runs in my veins. Some of my best pieces are either from thrift stores or vintage. I recently tried out a big mega thrift store near my town and what I discovered was that they had an AMAZING toy section. I would have never thought to go thrifting for toys. But the aisles were filled with nearly new and some brand new in the packaging toys. The horrible ugly light up ones that my son loves that all cost $29.99. They were there and for $1.99 or $2.99. All to say that I loaded up and won Mom of the century when I showed him my haul. I now know where I’ll be doing my Christmas shopping.
Cherry Clafoutis
Serves 4-6
1 ½ pounds of cherries, pitted