Parmesan Popovers from Giada
Umm… what’s a popover? I thought I knew, but after making these and doing some in-depth research, I realized I’m not so sure anymore. Originally, I thought popovers were fluffy, brioche-ish bread rolls. However, this recipe yielded some very delicious bread-looking things that were more like hollow, fluffy quiche than anything else. Whaaat? Well apparently, this isn’t far off from what popovers are supposed to be (see link above), but I’m still not sure if this recipe can be rated as a great or not. They were incredibly tasty with lots of parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, and herbs de Provence (one of my favorite seasonings). They had a nice texture, albeit a pretty eggy one. If that’s the way popovers are supposed to be, then good job on this recipe, Giada! If not, should we just call these something else next time we make them?
What I would really love is for some popover-loving connoisseur to shed some light on the situation. Do these appear to be good popovers? Is there a recipe you can recommend to really show me what a perfect popover is like? If you got anything on this, let me know!
I’d like to end on this note: this recipe is prepared in a blender, which is awesome for mixing, filling up the muffin tins, and clean up. That is definitely working in its favor–popover or not.
Parmesan Popovers from Giada de Laurentiis
3 eggs
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. herbs de Provence
4 tbs. chopped parsley leaves
1 c.s whole milk
3/4 c. grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a blender, combine eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and herbs, milk, and cheese. Blend on medium speed.
Spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove popovers from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack. Save in a storage container to take to the picnic.*
*Editor’s Note: Picnic???
I don’t have a popover-loving connoisseur, but I do have Alton Brown. I saw him make these on Good Eats one time. It’s your lucky day…
Recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/popover-sometime/index.html.
The whole episode is on YouTube (he talks about the popover about halfway through):
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjtcyUb4S5M
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmKcegIBtkU
P.S. You and Brian should come down for sxsw!
Picnic sounds great! I’ll bring the wine!!
well dang, thats an easy recipe.
I could bake that!!!
Deacon = Happy
They look pretty darn good. Popovers are usually made in a bigger size tin than the usual muffin pan and that helps the rising. Eggy is good. Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill has great popovers.
I’d have to see the inside to know whether they are what I think of as real popovers. Are they kind of hollow?
In the UK we have the Yorkshire Pudding, which is not a “pudding” by the American definition but rather a pastry like thing not unlike a popover (those crazy Brits!). When looking for a Yorkshire Pudding recipe I kept coming across recipes for popovers instead as they are made of a very similar recipe. If they *are* like Yorkshire puds then hollow and light is a good result and well made. Come to England and you can try some Yokshire puds and see for yourself