1lbdamaged chanterellesor nicer, pristine chanterelles if you have excess
½teaspoonkosher salt and ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepperplus more to taste if needed
2cupsheavy cream
½cupdry white wine
3tablespoongrapeseed or canola oilfor caramelizing the chanterelles
1large eggplus 2 egg yolks
2tablespoonunsalted butter
Small bouquet of a few branches of thymeand a fresh or dried bay leaf
Serving (optional)
4oz hedgehog or other mushrooms
1Tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
Make the custard base
Clean the chanterelles thoroughly, rinsing quickly under cold water if needed. Allow the chanterelles to dry for an hour or two, spread out on dry towels.
Heat the grapeseed oil in a large saute pan until lightly smoking. You want a saute pan with high sides for this (in the pictures I'm using a 10in "square-sided" saute pan).
Add the chanterelles to the pan and cook until they have released any moisture, then cook the moisture out until the pan is dry, add the butter and caramelize the chanterelles until lightly browned. Season the chanterelles with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper.
Add the wine to the pan and cook until the pan is dry and the wine has completely evaporated. Add the cream and simmer for 4-5 minutes on low-medium heat.
Puree the chanterelle-cream mixture in a highspeed blender, then allow to cool for 20 minutes in the blender to prevent it from cooking the egg. Add the egg and yolks, then puree the mixture again, cool and reserve.
Bake the custards
Spoon the custard mixture into your serving vessel of choice and bake, covered in a water bath or steamer, until the custard is completely set, (for most of my trials, this took about 25 minutes). Remove the cover of your cooking vessel when you can see the custard begin to set, this helps form a gentle skin that helps preserve the color and texture.
When the custards are cooked, heat the butter in a pan until lightly browned and then add the hedgehog mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes or until cooked throughout.
Season the mushrooms lightly with salt and pepper, then add the chives and remove the pan from the heat. Spoon the mushrooms on top of the cooked custard and serve immediately.
Notes
How to serve
Once the custards are cooked, you can serve them, but they will be better if you cool them overnight, and then reheat gently until just warmed through in the oven.