Lemon Verbena Creme Brule for a Summers Evening.
/This summer in Burgundy has been a hot one and while at midday most people are hiding in the cool of cellars and behind closed shutters, in the evenings people in Burgundy are eating out doors and the scent of grilled meat mingles in the villages.
Here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge we keep our grilling simple and this summers' favourites are magret of duck and the smoky rib of Charolais slow-cooked over 90-year-old vine stocks, both washed down with plenty of pinot noir.
Despite the heat wave our chickens are now laying well and we have a daily glut of eggs. A simple Crème brûlée is a fine way to use up the yolks. The dry weather has meant the Mediterranean herbs in the garden are loving life and it could not be easier to infuse these aromatic flavours into a simple desert.
Here is a recipe for a lemon verbena Crème Brûlée.
- 500 ml of whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 50g of sugar
- small bunch of verbena leaves.
1. Preheat the oven to 100
2. Add the milk to a pan and warm over a gentle heat.
3. Add the verbena leave and continue to warm the milk while stirring gently. Turn off the heat and leave to cool until tepid.
4. Add the sugar and all the eggs and yolks to a deep mixing bowl and stir with a spoon until smooth and golden.
5. Strain away the verbena leaves. Slowly add all the warm milk, little by little to the egg and sugar mix making sure to keep mixing as you add.
6. Place the ramekin in a deep making dish. Add boiling water so it reached half way up the ramekin creating a bain-marie.
7. Pour the warmed milk equally among the ramekins. Place in the oven for 50 minutes.
8.Remove and add a little brown sugar on the surface of each ramakin. Turn on your blow torch and burn the top of each dish until the sugar on the surface browns and bubbles. Leave to cool.
