Savory Egg Pudding Recipe
This silky pudding with fresh herbs and sweet sautéed leeks lies somewhere between a crustless quiche and a Spanish tortilla.
This recipe was featured as part of our Resurrecting Easter Brunch menu.
Game plan: Make sure to slice the potatoes as thin as possible to ensure they cook fully. If you want thicker slices, you can use potatoes that have been partially boiled.
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium red potatoes, halved lengthwise and sliced paper thin (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), plus more for coating the baking dish
- 2 medium leeks, halved lengthwise, rinsed, and thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
- 1 medium garlic clove, peeled and minced
- Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with butter and set aside.
- Combine the flour, half of the half-and-half, the eggs, and the egg yolk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the cream and remaining half-and-half, season well with salt and pepper, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- Combine the potatoes, herbs, and zest in a large bowl and toss to coat; set aside. Heat the measured butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add the leeks and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the leeks are soft, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Mix the cooked leeks into the potato mixture and season with additional salt and pepper. Evenly spread the potato mixture in the prepared baking dish and pour the egg mixture over top.
- Bake until the custard is puffy, golden, and set, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest at least 20 minutes before serving. The egg pudding can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Beverage pairing: Chappellet Napa Valley Chenin Blanc, California. Tarragon and Chenin Blanc always seem to work together, since both have gentle herbal flavors and a certain inherent springy sweetness. The wine will also harmonize with the leeks and lemon zest. Chenin is one of the great white grapes of the Loire, but Chappellet has been making this beautiful version in Napa for years.
Have made this twice...once w/cream cheese and once without. Used milk and half n half vs half n half and heavy cream...both versions great. Second time added some thyme also since it's a Savory pudding. Oh, I worried also about the potatoes being cooked...turned out no problem, but I did slice them rather thinly. Used 3 potatoes and also added some egg whites to increase the volume a bit. Both...+READ
Have made this twice...once w/cream cheese and once without. Used milk and half n half vs half n half and heavy cream...both versions great. Second time added some thyme also since it's a Savory pudding. Oh, I worried also about the potatoes being cooked...turned out no problem, but I did slice them rather thinly. Used 3 potatoes and also added some egg whites to increase the volume a bit. Both times this dish was totally applauded. Travels well. It's now a staple for brunches or pot-luck brunches.-COLLAPSE
I can't believe there's only one other person who noticed that there is a missing ingredient. How do you complete 'One cup and a half'...?!
Made this with milk instead of cream and it turned out very nice. Added some cubed cream cheese for extra smoothness and used cooked potatoes. Very easy if you do the potato-leek part the night before.
I am not sure that the potatoes will be cooked after 30-35 minutes. Rayula
Al--I'll be there! lol... ;)
Can't wait to try this! But I think I will take some of your suggestions and use maybe regular milk in place of the heavy cream...cooked potatoes in place of the raw...rice flour in place of the wheat. As for a salty taste, I'm surprised at no mention of adding some swiss cheese, which could be a rich and flavorful binder in place of the heavy cream.
For those who like a bigger flavor with...+READ
Can't wait to try this! But I think I will take some of your suggestions and use maybe regular milk in place of the heavy cream...cooked potatoes in place of the raw...rice flour in place of the wheat. As for a salty taste, I'm surprised at no mention of adding some swiss cheese, which could be a rich and flavorful binder in place of the heavy cream.
For those who like a bigger flavor with their egg dishes, I always put the bottle of hot sauce on the table. This way, everyone can adjust the heat to their taste.-COLLAPSE
Thanks Amy! I've been looking for something like this. I'll make it this weekend following your instructions exactly.
Lizzie, you're invited.
I'm curious...exactly HOW difficult is it to separate the yolk? Not sure I understand the extra "work" this requires...
This thing is AMAZING!
I LOVE rich foods. Nothing is EVER too rich as far as I'm concerned. I'm a great believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"--in other words, if it says cream, use cream, unless you're on Jenny Craig (in which case, you're probably not a subscriber of CHOW anyway...), or don't make it at all rather than ruin it with sub-standard substitutions. I don't make stuff like...+READ
This thing is AMAZING!
I LOVE rich foods. Nothing is EVER too rich as far as I'm concerned. I'm a great believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"--in other words, if it says cream, use cream, unless you're on Jenny Craig (in which case, you're probably not a subscriber of CHOW anyway...), or don't make it at all rather than ruin it with sub-standard substitutions. I don't make stuff like this very often, so when I do, I make it the way it's meant to be. If it is a little rich for some, here's the great thing about it--you just EAT LESS of it and you're satisfied. Hey, a little goes a long way! And just think--you'll have LEFTOVERS!!! This is just an incredible, creamy-good experience!
Was SO excited over the fact that this has both half & half AND cream--I'm from the Paula Deen school of culinary philosophy, i.e. you can NEVER have too much butter, cream, eggs, pork, alcohol, etc.!---and this recipe is an ultimate fantasy of mine. I would never DREAM of bastardizing the taste of this for the sake of a few calories. Man, I would probably even ADD an egg yolk just for the sake of artery-clogging goodness & flavor!
Since it's a fairly mellow dish, I wouldn't add any more spice to it, either, as then it becomes a completely different thing altogether. That's fine, but if I wanted a chiles rellenos casserole, I'd be making that instead of the delicately balanced creation that it's intended to be. Anything spicy would overpower the more subtle flavors of all the other ingredients.
Yes, you could throw whatever you want into this, but then, it's not the same recipe and you'd have to call it something other than "Savory Egg Pudding". Maybe "Spicy Egg Pudding". Or "South of the Border Casserole". If you added tempura sauce and tofu, you could call it "Miso Custard". Or substitute coconut cream for the cream, add peanut butter & soy sauce and call it "Thai Satay Surprise". Whatever. But if you do make it as it is intended here, it's just fantastic.
BTW...the reason for letting it rest for 20 minutes is so that it can set a bit--if you cut into it earlier, it may be a bit "loose", or runny; it needs time to cool a bit so it can be sliced better. If it's not hot enough, you can always zap it a few seconds in the microwave...-COLLAPSE
to Mothergoose.....half and half is a milk product in the US. Half cream and half milk.
This recipe has potential, but it is flawed.
For starters, the potatoes did not cook adequately, even after 35 minutes in the oven and 20 minutes cooling. I would recommend blanching them for a minute in salt water before add the herbs and zest.
Also, the cream is unnecessary, and to my taste excessive. I like rich foods, but this was too rich. Substituting more half-and-half for the cream...+READ
This recipe has potential, but it is flawed.
For starters, the potatoes did not cook adequately, even after 35 minutes in the oven and 20 minutes cooling. I would recommend blanching them for a minute in salt water before add the herbs and zest.
Also, the cream is unnecessary, and to my taste excessive. I like rich foods, but this was too rich. Substituting more half-and-half for the cream would be better. (You could even substitute whole milk for the cream.)
The flavors themselves were fine, but perhaps a little bland. The idea of adding jalapenos is nice. but if not everyone likes spicy foods I think pimento or roasted red peppers would be a nice addition.
I found the dish so lacking in salt, even after adding a lot of salt, that I am inclined to say it would benefit from the addition of a salty ingredient. Brine-cured olives, capers, or feta cheese chunks.
Lastly, there is really no reason to remove the egg white from one of the eggs. It's just more work without any real benefit.-COLLAPSE
Please tell me what is,"one cup of half and half/"
Re. wheat allergy - I haven't tried it yet, but I would replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free all-purpose flour replacement mix (typically a mix of rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour) this will avoid the "goopiness" of corn starch. You can buy pre-prepared GF flour mixes in many health food stores. I'll post again when I try this - sounds great!
I have a cream allergy, would whole milk work as well here?
travelchow, whatever you do don't use 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Yes you can replace the flour with it and it will give the dish a smoother consistency, but cornstarch has about twice the thickening capability of flour. The proper conversion for 1/4 cup of flour would be 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
travelchow, give cornstarch a try in place of the flour. It will produce a slightly different texture, but will not make a noticeable difference.
could you make without the flour? Wheat allergies!
instead of flour to thicken, you could also use a bit of fine whole wheat couscous. it's a trick I've used in frittata recipes.
I made this for my partner this week. He'd just had his wisdom teeth out and this seemed suitably soft, and yet also delicious ... and it WAS! I did, however, make some changes, which I thought I'd share as they turned out to make a really great and, I think, unique dish:
- replaced the potatoes with thinly-sliced half-moons of prepared polenta (I was worried the potato wouldn't bake up soft...+READ
I made this for my partner this week. He'd just had his wisdom teeth out and this seemed suitably soft, and yet also delicious ... and it WAS! I did, however, make some changes, which I thought I'd share as they turned out to make a really great and, I think, unique dish:
- replaced the potatoes with thinly-sliced half-moons of prepared polenta (I was worried the potato wouldn't bake up soft enough)
- replaced the leeks with 1 whole bunch of green onion, chopped fine
- instead of fresh tarragon, I used 2 generous tablespoons of tarragon dijon mustard, which has a wonderfully strong tarragon flavour
- replaced the half-and-half with soymilk to cut down on the fat
Delicious!!-COLLAPSE
never thought of putting flour in my crustless quiche. must give that a try.
crowsonguy: the pudding is still nice and hot after 20 mins; we have you wait that long so that the pudding is easy to cut. try it with potato and/or jalapeno and let us know how it turns out!
Why wait at least 20 minutes, by which time it will be luke warm? I say go ahead and eat it after 5 minutes. Also suggest taking out the potato, adding a bit of chopped jalapeno (without seeds)to make it lighte and zestier.