Parm Pudding

The recipes from Solo Suppers are usually more food than one person can eat, but I think that might be intentional: She includes a few salads and some tips on how to reuse leftovers. It feeds right into my scavangerishness. Last night I made a single-serving Parmesan pudding, a set, savory custard, and found that, instead of the one pudding the recipe made, I could make two decent-sized puddings from it. I ate one for dinner last night with a salad and the last of the tomato-olive compote (that is a versatile topping) and the other for breakfast this morning with my apple juice.

I also lightened the recipe a bit as I went along. Start by melting 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, then add 1 tablespoon flour and cook for a few minutes to make a roux. Whisk in 1/4 cup light cream (the recipe called for 1/2 cup heavy cream), then take the saucepan off the heat and add 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and 2/3 cup grated Parmegiano-Reggiano (I don't think I added quite enough - I didn't measure and the pudding only had a faint flavor). Pour into buttered ramekins with a buttered round of parchment in the bottom and bake in a waterbath in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes (I started checking at 15 and found that they needed the full 25 minutes). Let sit for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge, unmold onto a plate and remove the parchment. This has a great consistency: smooth, firm, creamy. Not gelantinous. It's a perfect palatte for other flavors. The recipe recommended adding veggies to it or serving it with a green vegetable or red pepper sauce. Two problems: the course-ground pepper (the only way I can do it) sank to the bottom and marred the look of the unmolded custard, and I had a hard time getting the parchment to fit perfectly, so the edges of the custard are a little ragged from the excess paper. Better to have too little parchment than too much, I think.