Clafoutis with wild bilberries

Bilberries can be enjoyed in tarts, jams, syrup, sometimes even in a sauce accompanying duck or game. 

Among the original recipes, we found this one, once more, in the wonderful small recipe book of Jean Sulpice "Ma cuisine de Savoie" published by the Libris Editions. The young Chef of the Oxalis restaurant in Val Thorens can praise himself to have the highest star in the "Michelin de France", his recipes are full of imagination and, which spoils nothing, easy to realize. 

He can be found this winter at Oxalis, but at the end of summer, he is at Baroc in Menuires (Tel.: 04 79 55 48 41) and, even if his cooking is not completely the same (it is simpler), one can get an idea of what is done up there. And not so expensive, honestly what do you think of that! 

You also have to know that the wild bilberries found in the Alps often come from Ardèche where they grow, as said before, in abundance.  This clafoutis with a light and smooth texture develops a perfume of the undergrowth, reinforced with a zest of lime. A creation which has reconciled more than one with the clafoutis.

For 6 people:

Wild bilberries 800g - sandwich bread 250g - 25cl of milk  - 1 zest of  lime - 125g of almond powder - 1 pinch of sea salt (fleur de sel) - 4 egg yolks - 5 egg whites - 125g of softened butter - 165g of caster sugar...

Remove the crusts of the sandwich bread. Cut the white into pieces and put it in a large container. Heat the milk until lukewarm and pour it onto the bread white. When this is well soaked, add the lime zest, the almond powder, the egg yolks, 125g of caster sugar, the salt and the softened butter. Mix everything until obtaining a semi-fluid homogeneous paste. Whip up the egg whites while adding the remaining sugar in small quantities. Then, very delicately mix the whites with the paste. Preheat the oven at 180°C. Wash and wipe the bilberries. Incorporate them into the paste. Put the whole in an anti-adhesive mould with high edges. Put in the oven for 40 minutes at 160°C. Turn out and eat lukewarm.