For all that I love big and bold flavours, at the moment I keep being drawn to mild set milk puddings. Maybe it’s the time of the year, when spring seems to be knocking at the door but isn’t quite here just yet, but right now, anything that’s silky-smooth and comforting seems to me like a particularly good idea. Or maybe it’s more that I’m drawn to them because they allow ample scope to play with flavours and infusions, both savoury and sweet. Whatever the reason, the simplicity and cleanness of a custard offers a base for all sorts of treats that you don’t want to miss out on.
Set soy milk custard with black pepper pork
On a trip to Sydney last year, I came across Dan Hong’s version of the Szechuan dish mapo tofu at his restaurant, Mr Wong. Dan is a very clever man indeed, known, among other things, for his exemplary roast duck, as well as for his stunning collection of rare trainers. His tofu, which inspired this dish, is really a soy custard, but who cares when it’s as delicious and smooth as this. White soy sauce makes for a pale custard that looks like silken tofu, but if you can’t get hold of it, regular light soy sauce will do. Serves four.
3 eggs
500ml soy milk
3 tbsp white soy sauce (or 2 tbsp regular soy sauce), plus 2 tbsp extra for the pork
50g unsalted butter
3 large banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 mild red chillies (or to taste), finely cut, seeds and all, into 1mm-thick slices
8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
3 tbsp vegetable oil
500g pork mince
2½ tsp caster sugar
1¼ tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
1¼ tsp rice-wine vinegar
2 tbsp Shaoxing Chinese rice wine
2 large spring onions, finely sliced on an angle 1mm thick
10g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the eggs in a large bowl and whisk very gently, until the whites and yolks are just combined. Pour in the soy milk and soy sauce, whisk gently for a minute, then divide the mixture between four individual shallow ovenproof dishes (16cm x 12cm oval ceramic dishes work well but similar-sized round ramekins are fine); the custard should come 1cm-1.5cm up the sides. Put the dishes in a large, high-sided baking tray, then pour enough boiling water into the tray to come 0.5cm up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 15 minutes, until the puddings have just set but still have a slight wobble in the middle. Remove and set aside to cool slightly; you want to serve the custard warm, and it doesn’t benefit from sitting around for too long.
While the custards are cooking, put the butter in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat. Once it starts to foam, add the shallots, chilli, garlic and ginger, and fry for 10-12 minutes, stirring from time to time, until soft and dark golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the oil and mince to the pan, and fry for two to three minutes, breaking up the meat with the back of a fork.
Once the meat is no longer pink, return the shallot mix to the pan with the extra soy sauce, sugar, pepper, vinegar and rice wine. Cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes, until there are about two tablespoons of liquid left in the pan, then take off the heat and stir in the spring onion and coriander. Spoon over the warm custards and serve at once.
Lemon and basil milk pudding with almond shortbread
You’ll have some leftover shortbread here, but it keeps for the next day. The pudding can be made a day in advance and kept chilled until ready to serve. Serves eight.
1.5 litres full-fat milk
60g picked basil leaves
Long shaved peel of 3 lemons, avoiding the pith
1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways and the seeds scraped out
70g caster sugar
180g mascarpone
7 egg yolks (use the whites in meringues)
For the syrup
50g caster sugar
75ml lemon juice (ie, from 2 lemons)
Skin of 1 lemon, cut into julienne
For the shortbread
120g ground almonds
30g whole almonds, skin-on, finely chopped
120g unsalted room temperature butter
60g caster sugar
90g plain flour
Salt
First make the shortbread. Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Spread out the ground and chopped almonds on a parchment-lined tray, bake for 10 minutes, then set aside until completely cool. Put the butter and sugar in a mixer and beat until pale. With the speed on low, add the flour, nuts and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead for a minute, until smooth. Roll the dough into a 5cm-wide log, wrap in cling-film and twist the ends so that it’s compact. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Once the dough has rested, heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2 again. Unwrap the dough and cut into 1cm-wide discs – you should get about 20. Spread these out on two parchment-lined trays – you don’t want them to be too close together – and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the base is lightly golden but the top has not taken on any colour. Remove and set aside to cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 140C/285F/gas mark 1. Put the milk in a large saucepan with the basil, lemon skin, vanilla seeds and pod. On a medium heat, bring gently up to a boil, stirring regularly, then turn down the heat to medium-low and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes – stir it regularly and make sure it does not stick to the base – until you have a litre of liquid left. Lift off any skin that forms on the surface during cooking, taking care not to remove any of the aromatics with it. Stir in the sugar to dissolve, then strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl; the basil, lemon skin and vanilla pod can now be discarded.
Put the mascarpone in a bowl and whisk, adding the egg yolks one at time, making sure each one is fully incorporated and the mixture smooth before adding the next. Add two tablespoons of the hot milk and whisk immediately. Still whisking, slowly pour in the rest of the liquid until combined and smooth.
Put eight small ovenproof bowls about 9cm in diameter and 4cm high into a high-sided baking tray. Divide the mixture between the bowls so that it comes three-quarters of the way up the sides. Pour boiling water into the baking tray so that it comes 2cm up the outsides of the bowls. Bake for 30 minutes, until the milk has set but still has a slight wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven, set aside to cool, then refrigerate for at least two hours, until completely cold.
To make the syrup, put the caster sugar, lemon juice and lemon strips in a small saucepan with 120ml cold water. On a medium heat, bring to a boil, then simmer for six minutes, until the syrup thickens a bit. Set aside to cool.
To serve, dribble some syrup on top of each pudding and serve with the shortbread alongside.
Watalappan
This Sri Lankan coconut custard is best eaten a day after it’s made, to give it time to settle and cool properly. The praline will leave you with some extra to nibble on. Serves eight.
530g coconut milk
¾ tsp ground cardamom
160g jaggery, roughly grated (or dark muscovado sugar)
3 eggs
50g caster sugar
Coarse sea salt
60g cashew nuts, roasted
30g desiccated coconut
Heat the oven to 130C/260F/gas mark ½. Put the first four ingredients in a large bowl and whisk for two to three minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
Put eight 10cm-diameter and 4cm-deep ramekins (or use small yet deep ovenproof bowls) in a large, high-sided baking tray. Divide the custard evenly between them, then pour boiling water into the tray to come 2cm up the ramekins’ sides. Bake for 35 minutes, until the custard is almost set but still has a slight wobble. Take the ramekins out of the water, set aside to cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least three hours, preferably overnight.
While the custards are cooking, put a medium pan on a high heat and add the caster sugar and a tablespoon of water. Leave the sugar to melt and, as it starts to caramelise and turn golden, gently swirl the pan. The moment it goes dark golden, remove from the heat and stir in a quarter-teaspoon of salt, the cashew nuts and the coconut. Pour out on to a parchment-lined tray.
Set aside to cool and harden, then chop half the brittle into roughly 1cm pieces (keep the rest in an airtight container as a nibble). Sprinkle the praline over the watalappan just before serving.
Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
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