(Not too sweet) Nectarine Clafoutis

A few days before Christmas, we went for a drive out to Glenorie, a lovely leafy rural town hemmed in on either side by national parks.

And we scored big time at a roadside produce stall... a GIANT box of strawberries, a big bunch of rhubarb and about 20 nectarines, all for $12. The strawberries were SO good, only about a third of the box made it home. :)

The gorgeous plump nectarines did make it home intact though. We enjoyed lots of them fresh from the fruit bowl, but after a few sweltering days I had half a dozen left that were starting to look a bit sad. Sooo....

Cooking time!

This clafoutis-like baked custardy pie tastes indulgent but is pretty clean with just a base of eggs, rice milk and almond meal, and a dash of rice malt syrup. You can substitute your favourite sweetner such as agave syrup, maple syrup or honey.

A clafoutis is a baked French dessert of fruit, traditionally cherries, combined with thick batter, dusted with powdered sugar and usually served lukewarm with cream.

Traditionally, it's also packed with nearly a cup of sugar and a heap of refined white flour. I experimented and came up with this cleaner version. And made with rice milk, it's dairy free.

Not-too-sweet Nectarine Clafoutis

3/4 cup rice milk (or almond milk)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup almond meal (you can grind your own raw almonds to flour in an Omniblend)
6 medium sizes nectarines, stones removed, quartered
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons rice malt syrup

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Whisk all the ingredients except the nectarines together in a large bowl. Pour into a shallow oven proof dish or pie pan. Gently place the nectarine slices into the mixture and bake in the oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.

Optional - Serve with a pinch of coconut sugar on top.

- Serves 6