egg cup custard

good morning!

my parents are two of the most happily married folks i know, to degrees that used to be embarrassing when i was a kid - back then, their public displays of affection made me duck my head and moan "moooOOOM!" but now i'm old enough to know better, and hope sam and i are as happy as they 30 years in. my sisters and i are going home to california for their 30 year wedding anniversary this august and making them a big, fancy dinner; i decided to test out one of my courses for sam and i a couple night ago.

i've been wanting to try out a custard served in its shell for awhile. i have a thing for eggs in egg cups - soft boiled eggs are a bit boring for my taste, but i eat them anyway, just for the joy of sprinkling them with salt & pepper and spooning them out of their shell. i received 8 little white egg cups along with a bunch of other kitchen goodies, and decided it was time to give this a try.



sage & truffle custard with parmesan crisp & tomato foam (adapted from here.)

1 egg
6 egg shells
a few leaves of sage
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 T truffle or mushroom oil
paprika
salt
pepper

for the foam: juice of one tomato and 1/4 t soy lecitithin (you can find it at GNC, whole foods & the like)

parmesan cheese for the crisp

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preheat oven to 275.

measure the milk, cream, and sage leaves (torn up a bit) into a small saucepan. turn on low heat until it simmers, then let it cool off so the sage can infuse.

while you're doing this, cut the tops off 6 eggs over an airtight tupperware. set aside. clean the egg shells verrry carefully under a gentle stream of cold water; it'll kind of feel like peeling off a sunburn. make sure to get all the membrane out. place these in a cardboard egg carton and hold on.

strain the sage out of the milk and pour the milk into a food processor or mixing bowl; i used my immersion blender. add salt, pepper, paprika, & oil, & blend; then add one egg from the bowl and blend. pour this through a sieve into a container with a good lip for pouring. (i used a gravy boat.) place the egg shells in a oven proof container with tall-ish sides (i used a cake pan,) boil some water, place the pan in your preheated oven and pour water about halfway up the egg shells. set a timer for 30 minutes - the original recipe said it'd take 40-45, but mine was perfect after 30. if they are set, remove them and let them cool.

while the custards are baking, simply grate some parmesan cheese into little piles on a silpat or piece of parchment paper. stick it in the oven for ten minutes or so, until it starts to brown. let them cool and voila! parmesan chips.

for the tomato foam, juice a tomato, then add the soy lecitithin - this just helps the foam keep its structure longer, so you don't end up with tomato juice floating atop your custard. i used a little aerolatte foamer to whisk it up into a foamy frenzy, then spooned it atop the custard & crisp.




and voila! a beautifully delicate & tasty appetizer or amuse bouche that's lovely to look at and sooo tasty. don't be shy with the salt & pepper on this one.


more from this meal soon!

xo audrey