Vegetarian Recipe: Pear Clafouti with Pistachios

Every week on the Good Food Blog we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Russ Parsons is the food editor and columnist of the Los Angeles Times. He first shared this recipe for Pear Clafouti with Pistachios on October 9, 2004.

Photo: Island Vittles

Pear Clafouti with Pistachios

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 6

• 1/4 cup plus 1 to 2 Tablespoons sugar, divided

• 3 eggs

• 3/4 cup whipping cream

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup flour

• 3 ripe Bartlett pears

• 1/3 cup raw pistachios, coarsely chopped

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine one-fourth cup sugar, the eggs, cream, milk and vanilla and blend until smooth. Sift the flour over the mixture and pulse just to mix. Set the batter aside to stand 10 minutes.

3. While the batter is resting, peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and remove the core and the stem line with a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works best). Cut each half in crosswise slices one-fourth to one-half-inch thick; do not separate the slices.

4. Arrange the sliced pear halves in a 9-inch pie plate with the stem ends pointing toward the center and a little space between each. Depending on the size of the pears, you may be able to use only 5 of the 6 halves. Pour the batter over the top and sprinkle with the pistachios. Depending on how sweet the pears are, sprinkle an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar over the pears that peek out from under the batter.

5. Place on a cookie sheet to catch any spills. Bake until the clafouti is puffed and brown in the center, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.