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Savory Custard w/ Onions & Cheese




Source of Recipe


The Detroit News


Recipe Introduction


This is a beautiful, decadent tasting side dish. It is so elegant and richly flavored, but VERY easy to do! I was introduced to this recipe by 'petite tete de chou' at egullet.org when I asked for advice on what to do with six leftover egg yolks. She suggested this and said that she usually uses ½ butter and ½ olive oil to cook the onions in and also said that you can use a tangy goat cheese instead of the smoked Cheddar. I didn’t want to do any special shopping, so I used an aged Gouda that I had. My notes and adjustments are in brackets [].


List of Ingredients




1 T. sweet butter, plus extra for the ramekins
3 large yellow onions, cut into medium dice
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs [I used 6 egg yolks]
1 1/2 c. milk or light cream [I used skim evaporated]
Pinch nutmeg
1 T. AP flour
1 c. finely grated smoked Cheddar cheese [I used aged Gouda]
Minced parsley for garnish



Recipe



Heat a wide nonstick pan with the butter. Add the onions, stir well to coat, then season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until the onions are very soft, occasionally giving them a stir as they cook. They should generate enough moisture so that they won’t stick.[I cooked these at medium-low - when I cooked them as directed, they burned.]

After an hour, remove the lid and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are pale to medium gold. Taste for salt and season with pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Boil water for the baking dish. Lightly butter the ramekins.

Crack the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in the milk, nutmeg, flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a grating of pepper.

Divide the onions and cheese among the ramekins, then pour in the custard.

Stir each with a fork to evenly distribute the contents, then put the ramekins in a baking dish, add the boiling water to come at least an inch up the sides, and bake in the middle of the oven until golden and well set, about 50 minutes [check them at 30 minutes, they were almost overdone for me at 40 minutes].

Serve the flans in their dishes or turn them out onto a plate. The tops will look rather naked since they won’t be browned, so plan to garnish them with some minced parsley.

Makes 6 1/2-cup ramekins.