Savoury Dutch Baby
Exactly a year ago, I took a writing workshop that changed my life. I know that sounds hyperbolic, and maybe it is, a little. Simply put: I was working two jobs, and one of them was starting to feel not great, for a variety of reasons. I felt like I was losing my creative spark. In an effort to dig it back up again, I took a one day writing workshop at SFU with my friend Mark Winston.
And at the end of that day, I knew what I had to do next. I needed to quit my job, apply for The Writer’s Studio at SFU, and write a book. And so I did. My goal for 2024 was to complete a rough draft of that novel, ideally around 80,000 words, and/or about a 300 page manuscript.
Not everything has gone as I planned this year, but I think, despite it being November, that I’m still on track to complete my goal.
One aspect of this book that makes it a little different, is that it includes recipes. And some of those recipes will be based off of my mom’s.
This is one of those recipes.
I think there’s a lot of confusion around what, exactly, a Dutch Baby is, and which country it originates from. In my mom’s recipe, she calls it a “German Pancake.” Basically, it’s a fairly thin pancake- or crepe-type batter, but instead of pouring it into a pan on the stovetop and cooking it there, you bake it in the oven at a high heat. The technique includes first pre-heating the frying pan, and also melting some kind of fat in it before you pour in the batter to bake. The result, however, looks nothing like a boring old pancake. It’s more like a popover or a British Yorkshire Pudding. It’s basically pancake batter, but cooked like a Yorkie.
I normally make and eat these in a sweet way, topping them, as they come out of the oven, with berries, maple syrup, whipping cream, and my fave, lemon curd. But this week, for the first time, I tried making a Savoury Dutch Baby, and boy howdy was it good!
By the way, the first Dutch Baby, just to add to the confusion, came from a restaurant in Seattle!!
Find another of my mom’s favourite recipes that will be included in the book here.
Savoury Dutch Baby
Equipment
- 10" heavy, oven-safe frying pan (cast iron is great)
- blender
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/2 cup grated cheese of choice
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions or chives
- 6 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cup kale washed & spun dry, chopped small
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- balsamic reduction optional
Instructions
- Take a 10” oven-safe frying pan (cast iron is perfect for this) and melt the butter in it over medium heat on top of the stove.
- Mix together the milk, eggs, half the melted butter (leave the rest in the pan), salt and flour, in a blender if you have it, but otherwise just in a bowl with a whisk well until the batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain. Whisk in the chives to the finished batter.
- Place the frying pan with half the melted butter into a cold oven and then preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Once the oven has come to temperature, carefully remove the pan from the oven, and pour the batter into the pan over the melted butter, and sprinkle the cheese over top. Place the pan back in the oven.
- While the Dutch Baby is baking, prepare the salad topping. Place the kale in a small bowl and add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and massage the olive oil well into the kale. Add the tomatoes and parsley and toss well to coat. Set aside.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden around the edges.
- Sprinkle the salad over the top of the finished Dutch Baby, then cut it into wedges to serve with a few drops of balsamic reduction on top if you wish.