Watch How to Cook Well with Rory O'Connell at 8:30pm on Tuesday evenings on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
These are delicate little savoury custards that make a very elegant starter or supper dish. The chanterelle mushroom is one of the glories of all wild foods and much sought out by foragers and cooks alike. Also known as girolles, they are delicious with so many different savoury foods. White poultry such as chicken, guinea fowl and turkey sit brilliantly with them. They are also delicious with fish, in fact one of my favourite dishes of the year is a big summer fat plaice simply baked and served with a butter melted with thyme leaves, parsley, fennel and chives and the sauted mushrooms folded through. Heaven.
A big pile of them straight from the pan and piled on to hot buttered toast is easy to achieve and also a joy. I fold them through scrambled eggs with a little cream and parmesan and pop those on toast as well for a fabulous treat.
The mushrooms need a little preparation before cooking with a dry brush and a small sharp knife. I cut the very base of the stalk off and brush off any detritus remaining from the ground where they grew. It is best to avoid washing them, as they soak the water and cook out to a rather soggy consistency. In fact, when buying chanterelles, it is best to try and find ones that look as if they have been picked during dry weather. Remember that the water or rain they may have absorbed will be adding weight on the scales, hence adding to the cost.
Many years ago I spent some time working in the kitchen at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Oxford cooking with the marvellous Raymond Blanc. When we were preparing these mushrooms there, we would delicately pare the skin off the stalk to reveal a beautiful butter coloured stalk. This undoubtedly added to the elegance of their appearance making the pared stalk look like a long and fine heal of a ladies shoe. The effect was purely cosmetic though and this level of detail is not necessary at home.
I have cooked these custards in all manner of receptacle ranging from heat-proof glasses, classic ceramic dariole moulds to espresso cups. All that matters is that they are the correct size and of course can bear the heat of the oven. I usually sit them on a saucer lined with a paper doily and serve a teaspoon as the appropriate cutlery. I should mention I have a love-hate relationship with paper doilies, mostly hate, but in this case the rather fussy little lacy paper prevents them from slipping and sliding around the saucer as you dip your spoon in and out of the gorgeous set custard.
Serves 8
The mushrooms
- 10g butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- 200g chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped into 2cm pieces
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons flat parsley chopped
- Custard
- 300ml cream
- 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
- 50g grated parmesan
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tarragon Toasts
- 8 slices of white yeast or sourdough bread
- 50g (2oz/1/2 stick) butter at room temperature
- 1 heaped tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) of chopped tarragon
Method
- 8 x 100ml oven proof containers lightly brushed with melted butter
- Preheat oven to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4
- To cook the chanterelles, melt the butter and olive oil in a sauté pan and allow to foam. Add the chopped garlic and stir for 5 seconds. Add the prepared mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix with a wooden spoon and sauté over a moderately hot heat until the mushrooms are wilting and tender. Do not fry them at too fierce a heat as this can toughen the delicate texture.
- Remove from the pan and allow to cool. When slightly cooled stir in the chopped parsley. If the mushrooms exude a lot of liquid in the cooking, leave it in the pan after removing the cooked mushrooms and bubble that liquid until thick and syrupy in consistency and add to the cooked mushrooms. This concentration of the cooking juices adds greatly to the flavour.
- To make the custard, whisk the cream, eggs, parmesan and salt and pepper together. Divide the cold mushrooms between the buttered containers and pour over the custard to fill the containers about three quarters full.
- Place the custards in a deep roasting tray or oven proof dish such as one you might use for a lasagne. Place in the oven and pour water from a just boiled kettle to come half way up along the sides of the receptacles. Cover with a piece of dampened grease-proof or parchment paper.
- Cook in the preheat oven for 20-25 minutes or until the custards are just set. You will know they are cooked when the custard has set to a wobble rather than an undercooked ripple.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving with a teaspoon for each guest and "soldiers" of tarragon toast.
Tarragon Toasts
- Mix the butter and chopped tarragon. Toast the slices of bread on both sides. Remove the crusts and butter with the tarragon butter.
- Cut each slice into 4 -6 'soldiers' and serve with the warm chanterelle custards.
