Savory Dutch Baby

Serves 6-8

Intro: Mom used to cook sweet Dutch babies on the weekends and I never thought about doing a savory one until I came across a recipe in the New York Times, from which this recipe is gleaned. I love how you can basically treat it like a pizza and use whatever toppings you like, so feel absolutely free to play with the ingredients and pair it to whatever wine you’re drinking. I use this as an appetizer on cool nights because when you eat it, it kind of feels like you’re being hugged. Note: this will deflate quickly, so for a nice impressive serving bring the pan to the table right from the oven to dish up.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. chopped thyme

8 eggs, room temp. preferred

¾ cup milk

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

4 oz. pancetta, cut into small cubes

4 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

About 8 oz. of a good melting cheese, like Brie or Camembert, cut into ¼ inch slices

(We used a washed rind cheese)

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

A few slices of prosciutto, sliced into small strips

Method:

Heat oven to 425 degrees with a 9-inch cast iron pan in the oven so it gets nice and hot (that’s a trick to get the Dutch Baby cooked right). 

Cook pancetta in a small pan over medium heat until done, just a couple minutes, and set aside. 

In a bowl whisk flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Put milk and cracked eggs into a blender (a bowl works too but this is easy and makes a nice fluffy batter) and give it a quick mix. Add flower mixture and blend for 1 minute. Add thyme and parmesan cheese and give it a quick mix.

Take the hot cast iron pan from the oven, add butter and pancetta. Once butter is melted give the pan a swirl so it coats the bottom of the pan. 

Working quickly, add the batter to the pan and place the slices of cheese around the middle (kind of like a pizza).

Put the pan back in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, until fluffy and golden brown. Once done, remove from the oven, top with chopped parsley and prosciutto, and serve. 

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