Parmesan Custards Food

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.

SPINACH PARMESAN CUSTARD WITH FRICO

Steps:

• Cook onion in butter, covered, in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add spinach and water and cook, covered, over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, about 4 minutes. Drain in a large sieve set over a bowl, pressing on spinach. (Discard liquid.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil springform pan.
• Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl, then stir in spinach.
• Spoon into springform pan, spreading evenly, and bake until custard is set and no longer wet in center, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a rack, then run a sharp knife around edge to loosen and remove side of pan. Cut into 8 wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

SAVOURY PARMESAN TARTLETS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a large oblong measuring 30 x 40cm. Stamp out 24 rounds with a 6.5cm round cutter, then carefully place them in fairy cake or muffin tins to form tiny tarts. Prick the bases with a fork.
• Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, scatter with the parmesan and bake for 10-12 mins until golden. Scrunch the pastry trimmings together, then re-roll and stamp out 4 more rounds. Glaze and bake as before. When all the pastry cases come out of the oven, roast the cherry tomato halves on a baking tray for 8 mins. The cases will keep in a tin for up to 3 days or freeze for 3 months. The tomatoes will keep in the fridge for 24 hrs.
• To serve, fill some cases with a teaspoon of hummus, a cherry tomato and a few snipped chives. Fill others with soft cheese, a twirl of salmon, dill and black pepper and capers, if you like.

PARMESAN CUSTARD TART WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Steps:

• Make shell:
• Combine flour, sage, and salt in a food processor, then add butter and shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse until just incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough into a ball with scraper, then flatten into a 5-inch square. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 17- by 8-inch rectangle and fit into tart pan. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Lightly prick bottom and sides of shell all over with a fork. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Line pastry shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until sides are set and edges are pale golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until bottom is pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes more. Lightly brush bottom and sides of shell with egg white and continue to bake until dry and shiny, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Make filling while shell bakes:
• Bring cheese and cream just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and steep, covered, 30 minutes. Pour steeped cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on cheese solids and then discarding them.
• While cream steeps, heat oil in a 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté squash with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, turning, until lightly browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and cool slightly.
• Whisk together whole egg, yolk, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl until combined. Add steeped cream, whisking until smooth.
• Fill and bake tart:
• Scatter squash evenly in tart shell and pour custard over. Bake until custard is just set and golden in patches, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack at least 20 minutes.
• Halve tart crosswise, then cut in half lengthwise and cut each quarter into 8 pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• *Available at some cookware shops and Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop (fantes.com).

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.