I had noticed here and there (Elle à Table  and surely in some foodblogs) cooked melon. For me the melon was always in its natural state, as dessert or starter (with ham or porto), fruits salad, recently in a cocktail (in icecream as you can tell me). It is the book Elle à Table which offers a recipe for pistachio crumble melon and apricots. The apricots are not my thing (and I had not). I followed part of their recipe, and I took a basic crumble dough from the book « So crumble! » Julie Schwob.

Well done … the melon is good! Except I thought it lacked a bit of acidity (which should be brought by the apricots in the first recipe). But I had mulberries! I bought some before the holidays and they were waiting quietly in the freezer, in theory to make macaron. Result is that the mix of melon and mulberries was perfect (just ask my son!). I made my pictures and now I give you the recipe. In the crumble (heavily modified from the book So crumble!) I added pistachio flour. For those who do not have some complete with powdered almonds. Note also, it is possible that you need to add sugar if your melon is not sweet enough.

Crumble melon and mulberries

• 1 melon
• 200g mulberries
• 20g butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• for the dough:
• 90g salted butter soft
• 90g flour
• 60g almonds
• 45g flour Pistachios
• 90 g sugar

1. Prepare the dough: In a bowl sift the flour, add the sugar, almonds and pistachios and butter cut into pieces. Work the dough with your fingertips until the mixture becomes crumbly. Keep refrigerated.
2. Preheat oven to 180 ° C.
3. Take the flesh of the melon and cut into cubes (2 cm).
4. In a frying pan over high heat, melt butter, add sugar and pieces of melon. Sear for 2-3 minutes.
5. Put the pieces of melon and juice in a baking dish.
6. Sprinkle with the crumble dough.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes (the crumble should be golden).
8. Cool and add the mulberries.
9. In the original recipe is advisable to taste warm. For me I prefer the crumble very fresh!

Crumble de melon et mures

• 1 melon
• 200 g de mures
• 20 g de beurre
• 2 c.à s. de sucre
• pour la pate:
• 90g de beurre demi sel mou
• 90 g de farine
• 60 g de poudre d’amandes
• 45 g de farine de pistaches
• 90 g de sucre

1. Préparation de la pate: dans un saladier tamiser la farine, ajouter le sucre, poudre d’amandes et de pistaches et le beurre coupé en morceaux. Travailler la pate du bout des doigts jusqu’à ce que le mélange devienne sableux. Réserver au frais.
2. Préchauffer le four à 180°C.
3. Prélever la chair du melon et couper la en cubes (2 cm).
4. Dans une poele, sur feu vif, faire fondre le beurre, ajouter le sucre et les morceaux de melon. Laisser saisir pendant 2-3 minutes.
5. Verser les morceaux de melon et le jus dans un plat à gratin.
6. Parsemer du crumble.
7. Enfourner pour 25-30 minutes (le crumble doit etre doré).
8. Laisser refroidir et ajouter les mures.
9. Dans la recette originale on conseille de déguster tiède. Pour ma part j’ai préféré le crumble bien frais!

Crumble melone e more

• 1 melone
• 200 g more
• 20g di burro
• 2 cucchiai di zucchero
• Per la pasta:
• 90g di burro salato morbido
• 90g di farina
• 60g di mandorle
• 45g farina di pistacchi
• 90 g di zucchero

1. Preparare la pasta: In una terrina setacciare la farina, aggiungere lo zucchero, le mandorle e pistacchi e il burro tagliato a pezzetti. Lavorate la pasta con la punta delle dita fino a quando il composto diventa sabbioso. Conservare in frigo.
2. Preriscaldare il forno a 180 ° C.
3. Prendete la polpa del melone e tagliate a cubetti (2 cm).
4. In una padella, a fuoco alto, sciogliere il burro, aggiungere lo zucchero e pezzi di melone. Rosolare per 2-3 minuti.
5. Mettete i pezzi di melone e il succo in una pirofila.
6. Aggiungere il crumble.
7. Infornare per 25-30 minuti (il crumble deve essere dorato).
8. Raffreddare ed aggiungere le more.
9. Nella ricetta originale si consiglia di assagiare caldo. Per parte mia preferisco il crumble molto fresco!

The question is on! Shall I still call this cake a clafoutis?? If you refer to the Grand Larousse gastronomique the clafoutis (from Limousin) is a « cake » with some cherries in a kind of a pancake (crepe) pasta.

The thing is, I am never really liked the clafoutis. The pasta is too thick according to me. But with the season in, a lot of blogs proposed the recipe. There is one that just caught up my attention, the recipe from Mamina.  She followed a recipe from Pierre Hermé, where most of the flour is replaced with bread (white loaf), and the eggs are separated with beaten eggwhites. So the later one implies that the pasta is less thicker…hhmmm!

I thought and thought about it, shall I try it or not, and the idea poped up. Maybe not the best one, but why not replacing the white loaf bread with some gingerbread??!! Well I really like the result. The mix of cherries with spices fo the gingerbread (mainly cinnamon actually in mine), the crunchy particles of almond flour and some pieces of gingerbread. And as Mamina said the plus is the  little acidity given by the lemon zest (note that she also found the pasta a little bit too heavy, what I did not found it here…my point of view). So the recipe is for sure far from the traditional one but the result is there too. Clafoutis or not try it and let me know!

Cherries clafoutis

• 3 eggs
• 400 g cherries
• 100 ml milk
• 60 ml cream
• 80 g sugar
• 80 g gingerbread
• 50 g almonds flour
• 50 g soften butter
• 1 lemon zest

1. Warm up the oven at 180°C.
2. Wash the cherries and remove the tail.
3. Put the gingerbread in the milk until the gingerbread gets soften.
4. In a blender mix the eggyolks, almonds flour, gingerbread with the milk, butter, sugar, cream and lemon zest altogether until the bread is finely mixed.
5. Beat the eggwhites until stiff adding a tbsp of sugar half way.
6. Incorporate the eggwhites to the previous mix.
7. Put the cherries in a pie plate and pour the mix on it.
8. Put in the oven and cook it for 35-40 minutes.
9. Eat it cold!

Clafoutis aux cerises

• 3 oeufs
• 400 g de cerises
• 100 ml de lait
• 60 ml de crème fraiche liquide
• 80 g de sucre
• 80 g de pain d’épices
• 50 g d’amandes en poudre
• 50 g de beurre mou
• le zeste d’un citron

1. Préchauffer le four à 180°C.
2. Laver et équeutter les cerises.
3. Faire tremper le pain d’épices dans le lait jusqu’à ce qu’il ramollisse.
4. Dans le bol du mixeur mixer les jaunes d’oeufs, la poudre d’amandes, le beurre, le pain d’épices avec le lait, le sucre, la crème et le zeste de citron jusqu’à ce que le pain d’épices soit mixé.
5. Monter les blancs en neige en ajoutant une c. à s. de sucre à mi parcours.
6. Incorporer doucement les blancs au précédent mélange.
7. Disposer les cerises dans un plat à gratin et verser dessus le mélange.
8. Enfourner et laisser cuire 35-40 minutes.
9. Déguster bien froid!

Clafoutis con le ciliegie

• 3 uova
• 400 g ciliegie
• 100 ml latte
• 60 ml panna liquida
• 80 g zucchero
• 80 g panpepato
• 50 g farina di mandorle
• 50 g burro morbido
• buccia grattugiata di un limone

1. Accendere il forno a 180°C.
2. Pulire le ciliegie e togliere il picciolo.
3. Mettere il panpepato nel latte.
4. Con la frusta mescolare i tuorli, farina di mandorle, burro, panpepato e latte, zucchero, panna liquida e la buccia di limone insieme finché il panpepato sia frullato.
5. Montare le albume a neve aggiugendo una cucchiaia di zucchero alla metà del percorso .
6. Aggiungere le albume al primo impasto.
7. Sistemare le ciliegie in una teglia da forno imburrata e versare la pastella sopra.
8. Infornare per circa 35-40 minute.
9. Lasciar raffreddare completamente prima di servire!