Gateau of crepes pt 2
1 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| See part 1 | ||
Directions
or scallions, until the mushroom pieces begin to separate from each other.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside in a separate bowl.
This is now officially a mushroom <italic>duxelles</italic>.
Trim and wash the broccoli. Cut bud ends off stalks, to make them about 2" long. Starting at the cut ends, peel as much skin off as you easily can; peel skin off stalks, cutting down to expose tender whitish flesh, then cut into pieces half the length of your little finger-all this for quick and even cooking. Drop the peeled broccoli into 4 quarts rapidly boiling salted water and boil uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just barely tender.
Drain immediately; chop into pieces about ¼ inch in size. Toss briefly in 2 tablespoons hot butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Carrots may be cooked a day ahead, and so may the broccoli; cover and refrigerate. Mushrooms may be cooked weeks ahead and stoed in the freezer; be sure to defrost before using.
The Custard Mixture: To blend the cream cheese with the rest of the custard ingredients, either force it through a sieve with the eggs into a bowl and beat thoroughly, adding the rest of the ingredients, or mix eveerything together smoothly in a blender or food processor.
Assembling: Preheat oven to 350F/180F. Smear some butter over inside of baking dish and line bottom of dish with buttered wax paper. Fit 1 crepe, good side down, in the bottom of the dish, and space 4 around the sides (the good sides against dish); cover with a second layer of 4 more overlapping crepes.
Spread ¼ of the grated Swiss cheese in the bottom of the dish, cover with the carrots, pressing them well in place, and top with ⅓ of the remaining cheese. Ladle in enough custard mixture to come just to the level of the carrots and cheese. Arrange 1 crepe on top, and spread over it the mushrooms and another ladleful of custard. Arrange 1 or more crepes over the mushrooms and spread on ½ of the remaining cheese, then the broccoli,, and the final bit of cheese. Pour on the last of the custard mixture and fold the first layer of overhanging crepes up over the filling; cover with a crepe, fold the outside layer of overhang up over it, and cover with 1 or more crepes (depending on their size and the top of your dish). Place a round of buttered wax paper over the dish, and cover with a sheet of foil.
I think it best to bake almost immediately, in case the custard leaks against the sides and bottom of the dish, sticking the crepes to it and making a mess later when you attempt to unmold.
Baking (About 1-¾ hours): Bake on lower middle rack in preheated oven, placing pizza pan or something on the rack below to catch possible dribbles. In about 1 hour, whtn the gateau has started to rise, turn oven up to 400F/205C. It will eventually rise an inch or more and is done when a meat thermometer, its point at the center, reads 160F/71C. Remove from oven and let rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the custard to set and settle. Then run a thin-bladed knife carefully around inside of dish, and unmold onto a hot platter. Surround the gateau, if you wish, with fresh tomato sauce. To serve, cut into wedges, as though it were a cake, and spoon sauce around.
Maybe be baked in advance; unmold the gateau after its wait, and keep it warm in the turned-off oven, covered with an upside-down bowl. In any case, do not let the baked gateau sit in its baking dish in a hot turned-off oven ~ as I did (but you did not see!) on our TV show. The cooking liquids leaked into the bottom of the baking dish, evidently, and the hot oven then glued the crepes to the dish. Fortunately we had a standby gateau safely loosened from its mold, which replaced my messy unmolding caper on the serving dish. There is indeed nothing like experience as a teacher! To serve Cold: This makes a delicious cold dish for a luncheon or to take on a picnic. Accompany with a tomato or cucumber salad and, if you wish, a sour cream dressing or the same tomato sauce, which also is good cold.
(plm note: This has a lot of steps involved, but it really is not that difficult to make - and it certainly will impress the guests, as it's beautiful. I have also used fresh asparagus in place of the broccoli.) Posted to TNT Recipes Digest by "Peggy L. Makolondra" <pmakolon@...> on Apr 26, 1998