Goat’s Cheese Popovers - A Favourite Recipe

Popovers. Love the name. I imagine it comes from the fact that the mixture pops up and over the container whilst cooking. They’re related to Yorkshire pudding but this branch of the family doesn’t mind being jazzed up - the addition of herbs and goat’s cheese is just fantastic. They demand to be served on their own, as a delectable nibble, or two.

The recipe comes from one of The Silver Palate cookbooks. Do you remember them? Gosh I used mine a lot in the Eighties. Reading them now is not so revelatory but back then they really were at the forefront of casual food, done well. Their themes, quotes, hints and tips all made the books enjoyable to read and cook from.

One quote from the book that I’ve always loved is an Italian proverb - ‘Eggs of an hour, bread of a day, wine of a year, a friend of thirty years.’ I still look up their recipes when I’m having a gathering of family or friends.

Goat’s Cheese Popovers

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups plain flour - no sifting necessary
• 1t salt
• 1/2t freshly ground black pepper
• 1t dried thyme - make this a scant teaspoon - I like a hint of thyme rather than a full explanation
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup double cream
• 125g soft goat’s cheese - broken into small chunks - Meredith Farm make a nice one with dill in it or you can use any plain one found in the supermarket or specialist food store

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Brush muffin tray with oil - I use grapeseed oil
3. Place eggs, flour, salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg in a food processor and blend till well combined. scrape the sides of the container and blend again just for a bit
4. While the motor is running slowly pour in the milk and cream and blend well
5. Place the muffin tins in the oven to warm slightly. Remove the warmed tins and quickly fill each halfway with the batter. Put a piece of cheese in the centre of each popover and then pour on some more batter to fill each one to 2/3rds full
6. Bake until puffed and golden - about 40 minutes, depending on your oven
7. Serve immediately

Tips

• The mixture makes about 20 popovers - if you’d like miniature ones for nibbles use a ‘baby’ muffin tray
• Only make as many as you will need - they collapse quickly once out of the oven - better to stagger the batches in the oven to have some hot ones coming along later

Recipe comes from The Silver Palate Good Times Cook Book by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. If you like you can buy the book through Amazon by following the link.

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