Goat Cheese and Dill Dutch Baby
This savory Dutch baby, typically a <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6648-dutch-baby">sweet dish</a>, is made by pouring a light, eggy batter into a heated pan of hot melted butter. The herb-flecked batter begins cooking on contact, and when baked, puffs and crisps and develops a tender, custard-like center. Adorned with crumbled goat cheese, fresh dill and crunchy watercress, this is also finished with a drizzle of honey plus a sprinkle of lemon juice. When served as breakfast or brunch, this one-pan meal is about as quick and straightforward as you can get.
Ingredients
- 1 cup/148 grams crumbled plain goat cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill, plus picked fronds for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon
- Coarse kosher salt, such as Morton
- Ground black pepper
- 1 cup/135 grams all-purpose flour
- 8 large eggs
- 3/4 cup/190 milliliters whole milk
- 4 tablespoons/57 grams unsalted butter
- 2 cups watercress leaves with tender stems, or other tender greens such as spinach or arugula
- 1 tablespoon honey
Directions
- 1
In a small bowl, combine goat cheese, 1/4 cup dill and 1 tablespoon oil. Zest lemon over mixture, season with a pinch each of salt and pepper and let sit to marinate.
- 2
Heat oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the lower third. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add remaining 1/4 cup dill and stir. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Whisk wet ingredients into dry until just combined.
- 3
Melt butter in a heavy 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Let it cook until it smells nutty and browns, about 5 minutes, swirling the skillet so that butter coats the bottom and sides of the pan.
- 4
Pour batter into the hot buttered skillet and spoon half of the marinated goat cheese into the center of the batter. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 22 minutes.
- 5
To serve, cool the Dutch baby slightly in the pan, 5 to 6 minutes. Top with watercress and dill fronds. Spoon remaining goat cheese on top and drizzle with honey and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Slice the lemon and squeeze a wedge over the greens. Serve immediately.