All Year
A complex starter combining the soft taste of the celeriac flan with the more outspoken taste of prawn and Tobiko. The Chervil will bring freshness and lightness to the dish. The garlic adds an unexpected dimension to it.
We suggest to drink a sake with the dish. We prefer Jozen Mizuno Gotoshi because of the beautiful elegant aroma which goes very well with the flan and the variety in taste.
Here is what you need:
- 12 small coddlers (so-called standard size)
- 250 gram Celeriac
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 100 ml Fresh Cream
- White Pepper
- Touch of Salt
- 6 gloves of Garlic
- 150 ml Chardonnay
- 250 ml Chicken Stock
- agar agar
- 4 – 6 Tiger Prawns
- Olive oil
- Tobiko
- Chervil
Cook the celeriac in just a bit of water for 20 minutes, drain and put in blender. Let cool. Pass through a cheesecloth. Agreed, this sounds odd, but you want a perfectly smooth substance. So feel free to squeeze the cheesecloth to make sure you have all of the celeriac, but not the nasty bits. Now gently add the cream.
In a bowl mix the eggs and the egg yolks. Make sure to do this very gently; we don’t want any bubbles in the mixture. Pass through a sieve and make sure all bits of egg white and what have you are gone.
Combine the celeriac, cream and egg into one mixture. Add a bit of white pepper and a touch of salt.
Apply a very thin layer of butter to the coddlers, just enough to cover the inside. Pour the mixture in the coddlers, but nor more than 2/3. The mixture will set but not raise (or only a little bit). Close the coddlers, but not too tight. You want to test one during the cooking process and you don’t want to burn your hands.
Set your oven to ‘classic’ and to 170° Celsius. Put the coddlers in a large oven tray and add boiling water. The water should reach ¾ of the coddler, leaving ¼ free. Once in the oven reduce the temperature to 120° Celsius and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. The coddlers are done when a metal pen comes out clean.
In parallel cut the garlic gloves in two, put them in 2 cm cold water and bring to a boil. Drain and repeat this once. Now put them in 150 ml Chardonnay and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid to 50%. Now add 250 ml of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce again to 50%. Pass through a sieve and taste the liquid. Since the taste is not too intense use agar agar to thicken it.
Clean the tiger prawns and fry in a skillet. Set aside and let cool.
Remove the coddlers from the oven and allow to cool. You can do this by putting them in cold water, but you can also give it a bit of time. Make sure you dry the inside of the metal lid (condense).
Poor a bit of the thick garlic sauce over the flan and transfer them back to the refrigerator. Don’t store them too long; maximum one hour.
Just before serving add 3 slices of the tiger prawn, finish with a bit of tobiko and chervil, dry the lid, close the coddler and serve.
Japanese pepper leaves could also work well (but we haven’t tried).
Cook and Drink 