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04/16/08 |
                          
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Cauliflower "Flan" Yields a bit over a quart 1 ea. cauliflower, broken into florets 1 ea. shallot, chopped 2 c. 1/2 & 1/2 3 ea. eggs, whipped KSWPTT
Put cauliflower florets and shallot into a saucepan, and just barely cover with 1/2 & 1/2 (should be about 2 cups). Poach over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. Transfer entire mess to a blender and whizz the shit out of the mixture until it's smooth. Even if you don't have one, pass everything through a fine mesh strainer (something just slightly more coarse than a chinoise). Add eggs and season to taste with salt and white pepper. For those of you who are getting freaked out by tasting a mix with raw eggs in it, just know that you have a higher chance of getting salmonella from handling a reptile than you do from chicken eggs. Freakin' sissies. Go eat some goddamn cookie dough.
Get some fancy ramekins or perhaps some reserved egg shells that have been cut and pour your flan mix into said vessels. Place said vessels into a deeper vessel (like a hotel pan or some other form of high-edged baking dish), pour hot water up to about half-way up the sides of your flans, wrap tightly in foil and cook in a 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. If your flan looks like it's set, it's over cooked. If it looks like it's not nearly set, it's under cooked. If it looks like it's about to set (kinda like pudding or panna cotta), you're golden. For garnish, some parmesan cheese wouldn't be out of line here, nor would a cauliflower foam stabilized by soy lecithin or isomalt. If you're just looking for herbs, I'd suggest chervil, marjoram, tarragon or perhaps sage. Yay-yah!
Note from GG: I'm blatantly stealing this recipe from Nell's because I thought it came out absolutely beautifully. The "flan" (really, it's just a cauliflower custard) was light, fluffy, creamy and insanely flavorful. Most folks shy away from savory custards (I can't imagine Bill Cosby shilling foie gras Pudding Pops), but they're really excellent when done correctly. In this case, when served room temp, the guest is invited to think of a sweet custard and is instead treated to something else. Cool. Again, a traditional flan is going to be a custard served inverted with some manner of caramel sauce, and that's not what's going on here. But calling something a "flan" is infinitely more marketable than calling something a "custard," so there we are. About the only similarity here is going to be the temp at which the dish is served (room temp or below). Poaching the cauli wasn't a problem; over a medium burner, the florets were pliable but resilient in about 20 mins nearly every time. Cooking the "flan" after everything was mixed together was more the hard part. Our ovens at Nell's aren't exactly the most precise, so I'm kind of guestimating on what the proper temp and time is for the second cooking. What you're looking for is a not-quite-Jell-O-like consistency...kinda like runny scrambled eggs. Carry-over cooking will finish the job, so pull 'em just before you think you're done, yeah? If you get this part right, you'll be treated to a creamy, cloud-like sensation of cauliflowery, cheesy goodness. Otherwise, you end up with cauliflower soup or some kind of gelatinous over cooked, slightly eggy version of cauliflower. It's a matter of mere minutes, y'all.
This site was last updated 01/02/08 |
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