Skillet Dutch Baby Provencal

From Food and Drink Holiday 2015 this is a wonderful recipe that highlights the benefits of cast iron skillets.  I cook in my cast iron most days and while I found it initially tricky to get the heat right now that I have mastered it I would go back to another skillet.

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp herbs de Provence
2 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped, divided
Scant 2 oz (60g) goat cheese
1 dry pint (550 g) roma grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/4 cup black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 425F.
• Set sliced onions in a medium bowl and pour vinegar overtop to marinate while oven is preheating.
• Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Turn off heat once melted and frothy.
• In a blender, combine eggs, milk, flour and salt until well blended and foamy.  Pour batter into hot skillet.  Sprinkle evenly with herbs de Provence, 1 tbsp parsley and knobs of goat cheese.  Bake until pancake is puffed and browned around the edges, about 20 minutes.
• While pancake is baking, make tomato salad topper by pouring off 1/4 cup of vinegar from marinating onions, and adding remaining 1 tbsp parsley to the bowl, along with tomatoes, olives, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.
• Mound some of the tomato salad on hot pancake, serving the remainder on the side.  Cut pancake into 4 wedges and serve at once.

Serves 4

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg

Blueberry Maple Syrup
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda until well mixed.
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, vegetable oil and stir until combined (a few lumps are ok - don't over stir).
• Pour a thin film of vegetable oil into a large skillet or griddle (never mind if yours is nonstick).  Heat on a burner set to medium; its ready when a drop of water begins to sizzle in the pan.  Spoon the batter into the pan, by tablespoonfuls - depending on the size of your pan, you may be able to cook 6 to 8 little pancakes at a time or 3 medium sized ones.  Cook about 2 minutes per side, turning over once, until browned on both sides and cooked through (the batter should not be gummy in the middle).  Transfer to a heatproof plate and keep warm in a 200F oven until you've cooked all the pancakes.  

Blueberry Maple Syrup

• In a medium sized microwave safe bowl, combine the blueberries and the maple syrup.  Microwave on high power 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• In a small bowl stir together the water and cornstarch.  Stir into the blueberry mixture and microwave for another 30 seconds.  Remove from microwave and transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Let cool for a few minutes before serving with pancakes.