Our cookbook of the week is Dinner Uncomplicated by Claire Tansey. Over the next three days, we’ll feature more recipes from the book and an interview with the author.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner, sweet or savoury — the Dutch baby delivers. The big, fluffy pancake serves as a vehicle for whatever you’re craving, or happen to have on hand. Here, Claire Tansey tops her cheese-filled version with a simple salad for a 25-minute meal.
“It’s sort of like a soufflé and an omelette get together. It’s like a popover, it’s like a Yorkshire pudding,” says Tansey. “It’s the kind of kitchen magic I will never get tired of.”
Just mix together the batter ingredients, pour into a cast-iron pan slick with melted butter, and bake until it swells into a golden puff. The Dutch baby deflates after you take it out of the oven, leaving it crisp on the outside and custardy on the inside.
“It always looks like a beautiful, wooden salad bowl to me. So I thought, I’ll put a salad in there,” says Tansey. “You get the tanginess, you get the vegetables. But it’s a fast, simple meal that is spectacular when it comes out of the oven.”
The Dutch baby is a great way to interest kids in cooking, Tansey adds, and the ideal recipe to have in your back pocket for nights when you don’t want to go grocery shopping, but do want to make dinner. “It’s so, so yummy, and I love that it’s dinner I can make out of the pantry.”
CHEESY DUTCH BABY
Prep time: 10 minutes | Ready in: 25 minutes
4 eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup grated old cheddar, divided
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp salt
4 cups mixed greens
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 green onion, minced
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Whisk the eggs and flour together in a large bowl. Whisk in the milk and salt. Whisk in about half of the cheese.
Step 2
Melt the butter in a 10-inch (25-cm), oven-safe frying pan (such as cast iron — the pan cannot be non-stick) over medium. Swirl so it coats the entire bottom of the pan. Pour the egg mixture into the melted butter. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture puffs up and browns across the top.
Step 3
While the Dutch baby cooks, whisk the oil, vinegar and salt in a large bowl until combined. Add the greens, tomatoes and onions and toss to coat. Pile the salad into the centre of the hot Dutch baby and serve immediately, cut into wedges.
Serves: 2 to 3
Recipe and image excerpted from Dinner Uncomplicated by Claire Tansey. Copyright © 2020 by Claire Tansey. Photography by Suech and Beck. Published by Page Two Books, Inc. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
