FIRST COW + BLUEBERRY CLAFOUTIS

A lovely and quiet Western set in the Oregon Territories in the 1820s. It was based on Jonathan Raymond’s book The Half-Life. Before filming, John Magaro (Cookie Figowitz) practiced cooking using cookbooks from the 1800s.

Directed by: Kelly Reichardt

Starring: John Magaro, Orion Lee, and Toby Jones

Screenplay by: Jonathan Raymond and Kelly Reichardt

Chief Factor: “I-I’m entertaining, uh, a small group next week. Captain Ruby is coming for tea, and I’m tired of all his jests about the savagery of life on the frontier. Tell me. Do you know what a clafoutis is?”

Cookie Figowitz: “I do.”

Chief Factor: “Hmm…And could you make one, a-a good one? He loves a clafoutis, and, well, I, I’d like to humiliate him.”

Cookie Figowitz: “Well, without fresh raspberries or apricots, I’m not sure.”

Chief Factor: “Have you tried bilberry?”

Cookie Figowitz: “It’s out of season, I believe.”

Chief Factor: “We have plenty of blueberries on the bush. I-I would pay you handsomely for a proper blueberry clafoutis.”

Cookie Figowitz: “It’s a simple enough recipe. If blueberry is available, I’m sure I can make one.”

Blueberry Clafoutis (recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the following ingredients in a blender: 1 1/4 c. milk, 1/3 c. granulated sugar, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp. vanilla, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 1 1/4 c. flour. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute.

Pour a 1/4-inch layer of batter in the baking dish (I used a cast iron skillet). Set over moderate heat for a minute or two until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat.

Spread 3 c. blueberries over the batter and sprinkle on an additional 1/3 c. granulated sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

Bake for about an hour. The clafoutis is done when it has puffed and browned and a cake tester comes out clean.