Roasted Garlic and Thyme Custards make a lovely appetizer or first course that’s not difficult to prepare. Some of the preparations can be done well in advance, and the custards can be baked before serving and kept warm for about a half hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Chop off the top 1⁄3 of a garlic head, drizzle with some olive oil, and wrap it tightly in foil. Roast in the oven for about 50-60 minutes until the garlic is very soft and golden. Roasting the garlic gives it a rich, yet subtle flavor. Remove from the foil, and let set until cool enough to handle. Squeeze the pulp from the garlic, and mash it as well as possible.
Squeeze the roasted garlic from the husks.
This may be done several days in advance if kept covered in the refrigerator.
Prepare the mushroom garnish first. Bring 2 cups of water to the boil, remove from the heat, and drop in a handful of dried porcini. Let that sit for 1⁄2 hour.
Soak the dried porcini in hot water.
Remove the porcini from the liquid, saving the liquid. Squeeze the liquid out of the porcini, and dry on paper towels.
Slice the fresh mushrooms. Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet until very hot and the foam subsides. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms, stirring to brown on all sides.
Sauté the mushrooms.
Finely chop the porcini, and add them to the fresh mushrooms for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Pour in the Madeira and 1⁄4 cup of the porcini soaking liquid into the pan, and boil until nearly evaporated. Salt and pepper the mushrooms to taste. Set aside until ready to serve.
Combine the milk, cream, mashed roasted garlic, and thyme sprigs in a heavy saucepan and heat until scalded.
Steep the garlic and thyme.
Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let the mixture steep for 1⁄2 hour to absorb all the flavor from the garlic and thyme.
Preheat the oven to 300°, and boil a pot of water. Generously butter four 1⁄2-cup ramekins.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and yolks with the salt, white pepper, and grated nutmeg until pale in color. Pour the milk and cream mixture through a sieve into the egg mixture, pressing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Beat to combine the liquid with the eggs.
Strain out the garlic and thyme.
Place the ramekins in a baking pan, and pour the custard mixture into them. Carefully pour the boiling water in the pan, deep enough that it reaches 2⁄3 up the side of the ramekins.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, just until the custard is set. Remove the pan from the oven but keep the ramekins warm in the bath water.
Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the ramekins and unmold the ramekins on to serving plates.
Gently reheat the sautéed mushrooms, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Spoon the mushrooms around the the roasted garlic and thyme custards.
