Mushroom Custard

Name: Mushroom Custard
Yield: makes 4 cup of filling, enough for 8 small baked custards
Ingredients: 1 to 2 tablespoons soft butter; 4 tablespoons soft butter; 1/2 pound leek, trimmed and well rinsed, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups); 1 teaspoon salt; 3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon); 1 plump garlic clove, peeled and minced; About 6 ounces firm small mushrooms (white buttons and cremini; or morels, porcini, or other fresh wild mushrooms), thinly sliced (2 1/2 cups); 1/2 teaspoon porcini powder (page 140), from 1 tablespoon dried porcini pulverized in spice grinder or mini-chopper or by hand; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley; 4 large eggs; 2 cups milk; 8 small (4-ounce) soufflé ramekins or custard cups; A baking pan with 2 1/2- to-3-inch sides, large enough to hold all the cups in a water bath

December 14, 2011

I love custards—when they are properly baked, that is, so each spoonful feels like velvet and truly melts on the tongue, releasing all its flavors. This is one of the most basic pleasures of eating, one that my family enjoys and that I want to share with you. Here is a custard that has everything: lots of the flavor of fresh mushrooms, dried porcini, sage, garlic, and leeks, all concentrated and deepened in the skillet, and a creamy custard that holds all these flavors in suspension. When a spoonful of this melts on your tongue, you’ll understand why I love custards. Serve it as a first course at a special dinner, or as the centerpiece of a holiday brunch. This recipe is for eight small custards and is easily multiplied to make more. The recipe details the important steps in making any custard, so, if you haven’t made one particularly successfully before, pay special attention. For uniform baking, I recommend that you use identical molds to bake up a batch, if possible. If you don’t have any, I encourage you to buy a set of inexpensive 1/2-cup ceramic molds—get eight or a dozen; either a small shallow soufflé shape or the taller traditional custard cup is fine. You’ll use them forever, I hope.

Recipe notes