Matsutake and Saffron Custard

serves 2-3
Recipe from Lara Ferroni

Matsutake mushrooms lightly browning in butter give off the most amazing aroma of cinnamon and earth.

Read more about this recipe at Cook & Eat.

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2. Clean the mushroom and remove the base of the stem. Then very thinly slice a few shavings from the mushroom using a very sharp knife. The shavings should be a bit less than 1/4 inch each. Set aside.

3. Add the creams to a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, and whisk lightly together. Heat the cream mixture to just below the boiling point, and remove from heat. Add the saffron and give it a quick stir.

4. Beat the egg and yolk together with a whisk and stir in the tarragon. Add a touch of salt, and set aside.

5. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet on high heat. When hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the butter.

6. When the butter is melted, add the mushrooms, evenly distributing them in the pan. Let the mushrooms sear on one side before moving them, about 1 minute. Then, using tongs, gently flip over each mushroom slice. Cook for another minute and then remove from the heat.

7. Whisk the egg and cooled cream mixture together until smooth.

8. Place your cups or ramekins in a deep casserole dish, and add water to the bottom of the pan until it covers the bottom half or so of the cups. Spoon in enough of the custard to fill about half of the cup.

9. Add a few slices of mushroom, and then top with more custard. Repeat with the other cups, reserving one slice of mushroom for each cup.

10. Bake for 25 minutes, and then carefully place the reserved mushrooms on the top of each custard. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the custards are set. They should still be a bit shaky in the center.