Recipe: Bone marrow custard

This custard dish plays to those who love bone marrow.  If you've been caught slurping the centre from a shank bone, I'm talking to you.  A classic way to enjoy marrow is to simply roast it and spread it on toast - I kept the egg ratio on the low side in this recipe so the custard would stay soft enough to dip toast points in it if you choose.  If you want to go a step further, I originally served this with a red wine biscotti (that recipe is soon to follow).  If you don't mind a little sugar, brulee the tops of these custards - the caramel goes nice and the texture complements the creamy goodies inside.  As it is quite rich, this recipe is calculated for small, ramekin sized portions - larger portions will need more cooking time and you may want to double the recipe (this one will yield a bit shy of 750ml (3C) of custard)

You will need:

1                       marrow bone (split)

500ml / 2C       cream

2                       egg yolks

15ml / 1Tbs      sugar

2.5ml / 1/2tsp   roast garlic puree

5ml / 1tsp         roast shallot puree

to taste              kosher salt

to taste              white pepper

Method:

 - set the oven to 400F / 204C

 - shape some tinfoil to catch the fat, place the marrow bone halves inside and roast for 20 minutes

 - strain the fat and save for something else (caramelized onions - yum!)

 - re-set the oven to 250F / 121C

 - remove the marrow and pass through a tamis or fine mesh sieve

 - whisk the marrow, yolks and sugar together

 - steep the cream with the garlic and shallot purees

 - temper into the yolks and marrow

 - season with salt and pepper

 - pass through a fine mesh sieve

 - fill ramekins (or cups)

 - set in a bain marie and cook 40 minutes at 250F / 121C (longer for larger portions)

 - as the egg ratio is low, the "jiggle test" may be less effective, but the custards will still be firm when cooked

 - cool completely

 - serve