This is a beautiful first course that just sings of spring!
Servings: 6
18 Spears Fresh Asparagus
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3 Eggs
15 Ounces Crème Fraiche
1 Pound Frozen Green Peas
Chicken Broth (or GInger Miso broth for vegetarians)
2 Tablespoons Chopped Onion
1/8 Teaspoon Curry Powder
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Trim off woody ends of asparagus. Cut off tips and reserve. Cook asparagus spears for 2 minutes in the Lékué Steam Case with 1 teaspoon of water.
- Cook asparagus tips in 1 teaspoon of water in the Lékué Steam Case for 1 minute at 80% power in the microwave.
- Melt 1T butter and brush evenly over insides and bottom of a Trudeau Silicon Muffin Pan or 6 2.5" X 2.5" Mastrad EZ Form Short Molds.
- Place asparagus, eggs, 7.5 oz crème fraiche and salt and pepper in a food processor and process to a smooth, creamy consistency. Strain through a food mill.
- Place the muffin pan or molds in a pan filled with enough water to come about halfway up the sides of the molds. Divide asparagus mixture among the buttered molds. Put lids on the molds and bake for 30 minutes.
- Cook peas for 3 mins. in boiling salted water. Rinse in cold water and drain thoroughly. (If using frozen peas, just thaw and drain thoroughly.) Blend peas and enough broth to homogenize. Strain to remove skins (The food mill works great for this, too).
- Do Ahead: You can do everything ahead to this point and then refrigerate flans and peas.
- 20 minutes before serving, place flans in bain-marie and set over low heat to warm for 15 mins.
- Melt 1T butter and saute onions briefly. Sprinkle with a pinch of curry powder, add remaining creme fraiche, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 3-4 mins.
- Process this mixture and peas into a thoroughly homogenous sauce. Add broth if too thick. Adjust seasoning if necessary. (You may add truffle oil or cumin, or ??? to this mixture, as desired; explore!)
- Assembly: Cover bottom of 6 salad plates with the pea sauce. Unmold the flans and place one in the center of each plate. Garnish each flan with 3 asparagus tips.
Per Serving: 422 Calories; 28g Fat (55.9% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 181mg Cholesterol; 161mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 3 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 5 Fat.
Notes:
We made this wonderful dish a few years ago, and the only real complicating factor was that we used a silicone muffin placque and had to unmold the flans all at once and then move them to each dish. With the Mastrad Easy Form Molds, not only will they release better because the bottoms remove, but they release one at a time, right onto the plate.
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