Wild Georgia Mushrooms in Tennessee Whiskey Custard with Crispy Noodles
This vegetable dish uses eggs but no meat. Fennel adds an interesting note to oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Use any mixture of fresh mushrooms you find in your market.
Ingredients
- Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Shallot - 1, minced
- Yellow Oyster Mushrooms - 2, cut in 1/4-inch dice
- Brown Oyster Mushrooms - 4, cut in 1/4-inch dice
- Shiitake Mushrooms - 4, cut in 1/4-inch dice
- Fresh fennel - 2 tablespoons, minced
- Fresh Tarragon - 1 tablespoon, minced
- Fresh Thyme - 1 tablespoon, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey - 2 tablespoons
- Custard
- Eggs - 3
- Egg Yolks - 2
- Half-and-half - 1 cup
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Asparagus Cream
- Canola oil - 1 tablespoon
- Shallots - 2, sliced
- Vidalia - 1, or other sweet mild onion, roughly chopped
- Leek - 1, cleaned and sliced
- Dry white wine - 1 cup
- Asparagus - 1-1/2 , woody portions removed, tips reserved, cut in 1/4-inch dice
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 3 cups
- Fresh Thyme - 1 tablespoon, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Juice of one half lemon
- Garnish
- Fresh Ramen Noodles - 36
- Canola oil for frying
- Asparagus tips - 30 (above)
- Oyster Mushrooms - 6
- Butter - 1 teaspoon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Mizuna Greens - 3 cups
Instructions
In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and cook the shallots until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fennel and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the thyme and tarragon. Place the mushroom mixture in a bowl and return the pan to the heat. Pour in the whiskey; avert your face and ignite to burn off the raw alcohol taste. Stir up the bits from the pan and pour the mixture into the mushrooms.
To make the custard: Preheat the oven to 300 F. Butter six 3-ounce ramekins. In a deep bowl, combine all the custard ingredients and mix well. Stir in the mushroom mixture. Pour into the ramekins, filling them to the top. Place the ramekins in a deep oven-proof dish and fill the dish with hot water half way up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the entire dish with foil and poke 6 - 8 holes in the foil. Bake for 20 minutes, until firm. Remove, and set aside. Keep warm.
To make the asparagus cream: In a medium, heavy sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat the canola oil and saute the shallots, onions, and leeks until tender, 3 - 4 minutes. Pour in the wine, stir up the browned bits, and cook until most of the liquid has boiled off. Add the asparagus, cream, and thyme. Simmer until reduced and slightly thickened, then place in the bowl of a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into another saucepan. Add salt and pepper to taste and keep warm.
To make the noodle garnish: Place canola oil in a deep fryer and heat to 325 F. Place one-sixth of the noodles in a basket tool for frying, and immerse in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, remove, and place the basket on paper towels to drain. Repeat to make a total of six cups. (If you do not have abasket tool, the noodles may be formed into “nests” by shaping them and holding them in the bowl of a slotted spoon to immerse in the oil.) In a small saute pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and saute the asparagus tips until tender. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve: On each of six warm plates, place two tablespoons of asparagus cream in the center and spread to form 3-inch-diameter circles. Place asparagus tips at “4:00" on the late with the stems pointed toward the center. Place a noodle cage in the center of eache plate. Unmold the mushroom custards and place in each cage. Place the oyster mushrooms against the cages and close to the asparagus. Garnish with mizuna tucked into the openings of the cages.
