You may be tempted to call this a crustless quiche, but my mom called it a clafouti so that’s how it will always be remembered in my house.
Serves 8 as a side dish 4 as a brunch, lunch or light supper.
Ingredients
- 1 package (9oz) frozen artichoke hearts
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 small yellow bell pepper
- 1 small zucchini
- 4 green onions, white and light green parts
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and white pepper as needed
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoon store bought breadcrumbs
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup half and half room temperature
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoon flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Blanch artichokes in lightly salted boiling water for one minute. Drain and set aside.
Remove the stem core and dice the bell peppers. Dice the zucchini. Thinly slice the green onions. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and garlic. Stir until fragrant. Add the green onions to the skillet, stir to coat. Add oregano, a pinch of salt and white pepper, and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Add the artichokes, bell peppers and zucchini. Cook the vegetables about 4 minutes until slightly softened. Turn of the heat and set aside.It may be made ahead to this point and refrigerated up to 2 days.
At serving time. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 inch glass or ceramic shallow baking dish or pie pan. Dust it with the breadcrumbs, shaking out excess. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk in the half and half and flour. Whisk vigorously, until tiny bubbles are suspended in the mixture. Immediately add the cooled vegetables and the Parmesan cheese, and another pinch of salt, mix well. Pour this mixture into the prepared dish.
Set the filled dish into the center of a larger baking pan and fill the larger pan with warm water until it comes about halfway up the sides of the filled dish. Carefully move the pans to the oven and bake about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overcook the custard should remain tender and barely hold together. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Does this recipe call for cooked or uncooked beets?
… and finely grated.
If the cake tasted half as good as the styling of the ingredients looked (white is my favorite color), then I’m in.
I’ve been trying to use beets to make a red velvet cake. I got a secret from a great pasta maker in town. He uses a beet concentrate that he is going to give me some of (they buy big volume). Beets are a beautiful creation.
Yes, I looked away from the salad. I hate beets. Ditto on the pasta.I have made chocolate beet cupcake/muffin ‘thingys’ and those were nice so I’m willing to try the cake. Really the journey for me ended with with the Jamaican Red Storm. Yah mon, I’ll drink to that! I’ll need a slice of the cake to go with it:-)
I think you should call this Beet Crack Cake. YUM.
Funny, but I was actually looking for a recipe I could make for a loved one with a very poor diet. You know, trying to sneak in the good stuff with a little bit of sugar. Thanks for posting this healthy and what looks like delicious recipe.
Wonderful cake, great sauce!
Liliputians maybe, not the ragged bunch of animals that regularly congregate at my table. That said, I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces after they’ve devoured their cake and I tell them that there were BEETS in it. Sounds fab. — S
Well, you got me craving beets for the first time in about 40 years! You have both the mother and the kid in me begging for a huge slice and pass the crème anglaise please! Gotta try this one!
I’m become more of a beet eater as time and recipes like this have worn me down. They just look so pretty all the time. How could you not want to cook with them?
This pound cake sounds delicious. I’ve heard good things about the chocolate-beet combination. If anything gets people to eat their veggies, it would be this.
This is the nicest‑I mean with the most appeal-presentation of beet cake I have ever seen! Now you are making it lamost impossible for me NOT to try the thing! Plus, like you, I am a die-hard beet fanatic.
As long as it’s something as delicious as this chocolate pound cake, it can go on for as long as you’d like.
Greg,
This is one of those MUST TRY recipes because it seems like it can’t taste as good as it looks, but knowing you, I know it does. My little one won’t eat beets because as a selling point, we mentioned that the next day your poop turns red. We thought he’d find it cool, he found it horrifying. This would be a good way to trick him into eating beets!
Chocolate? Beets? That’s pretty close to the original red velvet cake! Of course the application of beets is totally different and the use of butter cream is cheating (makes everything better). If I could bake, I’d be all over it.
Just the Crème Anglaise had me, it sounds like liquid creme brule!
…and speechless. For years beets scared me, more so than brussel sprouts do others…you have beet me to the punch!
Time for some beet love in my house…
We have carrot cake, zucchini loafs — why not beets? They have lots of sugar. I know you’re pushing beets and I get it, but I also love that it has hazelnuts. I wish I had piece to eat right now. I’m feeling like a treat.
What a combination! Def a nice, rich cake and perfect with a good cup of coffee! I love the versatility of beets!
You do know I’m a sucker for chocolate right? hehehe… I haven’t had to many beets, but putting it in a bread would definitely get me to eat it.
this is not dessert its food in dessert clothing!
beets are high in iron too!
i would give this one a go for sure.
Wow, Greg, this is such a beautiful creative dessert! Excellent idea to add the beets and I will not stop thinking about the hazelnuts & creme anglaise!
I have a similar recipe in my queue. I think you could put just about anything in chocolate and it would taste good 🙂
All I can say is, I cannot wait to try this out!