Parmesan Custards Recipes

CREAMY PARMESAN CUSTARDS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the cream with the milk, cheese, salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and let the cream steep for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 250°. Pour the cream into a measuring cup and slowly whisk in the egg and yolk. Pour the custard into twelve 1-ounce ovenproof egg cups. Set the cups in a roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the cups. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the custards for 1 hour, or until set. Remove the pan from the oven and let the custards cool in the water bath for 5 minutes. Remove the custards from the pan. Top them with gravlax and arugula and serve warm. Make Ahead The custards can be baked up to 4 hours ahead. Reheat in a water bath until heated through.

ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH PARMESAN CUSTARDS

Steps:

• Make custards:
• Bring cheese, cream, and milk just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and steep, covered, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Pour steeped cream through a very fine sieve into a bowl, pressing lightly on cheese solids and discarding them. Whisk together whole egg, yolks, salt, and white pepper in another bowl, then add steeped cream in a stream, whisking until smooth. Divide among well-buttered ramekins.
• Set ramekins in a baking pan and bake in a hot water bath in middle of oven until centers of custards are completely set, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a rack and cool 5 minutes (do not allow to cool longer, or custards will stick to ramekins).
• Make soup while cream steeps and custards bake:
• Wash chopped leek in a bowl of cold water, then lift out and drain well. Cook leek, shallot, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in butter in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until leek is softened, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus, broth, and water and simmer, covered, until asparagus is just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. After 2 to 4 minutes, remove 6 asparagus tips, halve lengthwise and reserve for garnish.
• Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Transfer to a large bowl, then pour through a sieve into cleaned pot. Stir in cream, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste and heat over moderately low heat until hot.
• Serve soup with custards:
• Working with 1 custard at a time, run a thin knife around edge of each to loosen it, then invert a soup bowl over ramekin and invert custard into bowl. Repeat with remaining custards. Ladle soup around custards and garnish with reserved asparagus tips and parmesan curls.

PARMESAN CUSTARDS

Steps:

• 1 In a bowl, combine the cream, milk, sage, and rosemary. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours up to overnight. 2 Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 3 Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter four 6-ounce custard cups. 4 In a large bowl, beat the eggs until well blended. Pour the cream mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the eggs. Stir in the onion, cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture into the prepared cups. 5 Place a roasting pan in the oven. Pour 1/2 inch hot water into the pan. Place the custard cups in the pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden and the custards are just set. Remove the custards from the pan and let stand 15 minutes. 6 Run a small knife around the inside of the cups and invert them onto serving plates. Serve warm. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CHEF JOHN'S CREAMY CORN CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter six 6-ounce glass or ceramic ramekins. Set ramekins into a 2-inch deep baking dish.
• Place corn into a large saucepan and stir in cream, salt, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat; stir in milk.
• Transfer corn mixture to a blender and pulse several times to get the mixture moving. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.
• Whisk egg yolks with eggs until smooth in a mixing bowl. Slowly whisk about 1/4 cup hot corn mixture into eggs until the corn mixture is incorporated. Repeat several times more until all the corn mixture is combined with eggs.
• Divide corn mixture equally into the 6 ramekins. Pour hot tap water into the baking dish to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until custards are just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let custards cool for about 10 minutes before serving in ramekins or unmolding onto serving plates. To unmold, insert a knife between the custard and the ramekin, go around the edge with knife to loosen, and turn over onto a plate to unmold.

ZUCCHINI PARMESAN CUSTARDS WITH SAUTEED VEGETABLE DICE

Steps:

• Make the custards: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Fill up a kettle with water and boil the water.
• Place six custard cups with butter and arrange them in a 13 X 9 inch baking pan.
• Wash and trim the zucchini, but you don't have to peel them.
• Shred enough zucchini to get 1 cup packed.
• Melt the butter in a frying pan.
• Dip a brush into the melted butter and swirl them around the inside of each custard cup.
• Add the zucchini and the grated onion to the rest of the butter left in the pan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring every now and again, for about 5 minutes, until the zucchini is tender and the skillet is dry (the zucchini will release some water and this will help cook it as well).
• Heat the milk and the evaporated milk either on top of the stove or in the microwave.
• Don't boil the milk, just get a few small bubbles around the edges.
• Whisk the eggs and the yolks in a large bowl until blended.
• Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture.
• I said slowly, you don't want to cook the eggs right there and then.
• Set a sieve over a large measuring cup and strain the eggy-milk mixture into it.
• As careful as you were, you probably did cook a bit of the egg, and we don't want that in our custard.
• Add the cheese, salt and pepper.
• Stir in the zucchini mixture.
• Make sure it's distributed evenly through the custard mixture.
• Carefully ladle the mixture into the custard cups.
• Place the baking pan with the cups in it in the oven.
• Carefully, add enough boiling water to come 1 inch up the sides of the cups.
• Bake until the custards are set, about 25 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven.
• Transfer the cups to a wire rack to cool.
• Use a spatula, those cups are hot.
• Making the Vegetable Dice: Make sure the vegetables are diced in small pieces, pretty much all the same size.
• Melt the butter in a saute pan, and then add the vegetables.
• Sautee, stirring every minute or so, until the vegetables are tender, between 5 and 10 minutes.
• Add the brown sugar, ginger, tomato sauce, salt and pepper.
• Bring to the boil and then lower the heat, cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
• Putting the whole thing together: Run a thin knife around the edges of the custard cups to loosen the custard.
• Spread some of the vegetable dice on 6 small plates.
• Invert the custard on to the vegetables.
• Top with additional vegetables and serve.