Popovers - Who Knew?

I certainly didn't!  Last night in my Food Lab (yes, I have 'food lab' as part of my graduate education.. life is good.) after a informational lecture, we broke up into groups to cook, as usual.  But, not like usual, we were baking instead of cooking.  In cooking, you can get away with a dash of this or that, but with baking, it comes down to a chemical science of acids and bases, gluten formation and gelatinization, etc.  We were practicing recipe standardization, which is basically what chefs/cooks/other various people who cook do to get the best version of the recipe they can.  They might write one up, try it, and decide to make a change in the ingredient list or in a step in the preparation.  Then they make that recipe, and tweak that.  Then they try that one, and so on and so forth until they have, according to them, the best version possible. 

So, each group in my class had a different quick bread to design and bake, and then we had to analyze nutrition data for our product.  (Quick breads are just that - baked goods that are prepared and ready in a short amount of time, and aren't leavened with yeast.)  My group made Mocha scones with espresso and dark chocolate. ... hmm.  Wow. I only just realized, as I'm typing this, what a loser I am for choosing scones for my project.. unintentionally mentioned here!  I swear I didn't choose to make scones just so I could 'blog' about it!  Lame.

My point is, another group made rosemary-scented popovers.  Have you had popovers?  WOW!  They are delightful.  And potentially a new healthy treat.

Popovers are a quick bread made with eggs and flour but without butter or cream, that rapidly "pop" in a very hot oven due to rising steam trying to escape.  Then the oven temp is turned down so the rest of the bun can cook evenly.  This makes them hollow inside, with a nice crispy golden top.  The rosemary popovers my friends made were awesome.  I'm a huge rosemary fan to begin with, and the aroma was enhanced by the warmth from being fresh-baked.  They were incredibly airy and pleasantly eggy.  I ate one and then, cringing, asked my buddy about the nutritional damage, expecting due disaster.. she said they only had 70 stinkin' calories.  Say what?  Yup, no fat (apart from a bit found in the egg yolks used), but a few carbs and 2 grams of protein were pretty much all this treat contained.  Hello, opportunity!

The basic recipe for lean plain popovers (no butter used) is:
2 eggs, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 C). Grease and flour six 6-ounce custard cups.

2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly.  Add flour, milk and salt until just smooth; being careful not to overbeat. (Too much beating causes too much gluten formation and too much toughness.) Fill custard cups 1/2 full.

3.  Bake at 450 degrees F (230 C) for 20 minutes. After they have "popped," decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 C) and bake for 20 minutes more or until golden.  Immediately remove from cups and serve warm.
 
Because popovers are hollow, they can be used a ton of different ways. (Oh how I love versatile foods.) You can fill plain or sugared popovers with diced fruit, flavored whipped topping, peanut butter, or pudding. If you go the savory route and add an herb like rosemary to the batter before baking like my classmates did, (though they were pretty kickass on their own) you could fill them with shredded cheese, chicken salad, dill cream cheese, or maybe even hummus.  Just make sure you're not spoiling the healthful qualities of the popover by filling it with fat. 
 
I encourage you to give these treats a whirl in your very own kitchen.  I certainly intend to.  Let me know how it goes!