Porcini Flan

by Nancy Matsumoto
May 12, 2011

BOULEY
163 Duane St
@ Hudson St
New York, NY 10013
212-964-2525

Nancy Matsumoto

Hearty rustic fare is all the rage, and I’m for it. But sometimes you just want complex, many-layered flavors that have been harmonized to perfection by a brilliant palate with a light touch — a pointillist painting of a dish. Nothing exemplifies luxe eating so much as David Bouley’s porcini flan. A play on the Japanese egg custard known as chawan mushi, it begins with a richer, creamier version of that dish, topped with a porcini puree, then a jellied, herbaceous layer of Alaska Dungeness crab meat and kudzu-thickened dashi spiked with ginger and yuzu. Finally, a tender spear of claw meat floats on a whisper-thin layer of black truffle dashi. This plush pleasure arrives with flair, in a covered porcelain ramekin painted with tiny morning glories.

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