savory goat cheese & tomato creme brulee

by Marilou Suszko

1 pound ripe, flavorful tomatoes, peeled and seeded
4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
10 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar plus ½ cup for sprinkling
6 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
8 ripe cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Puree the tomatoes in a blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and salt and warm over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar together until blended. Gradually whisk in the hot cream until blended. Strain this mixture into a bowl with a spout and skim off bubbles. Gently stir in the strained puree, goat cheese, basil and lemon zest.

Divide the mixture between eight 12-ounce ramekins placed in a roasting pan. Place one cherry tomato in each ramekin. Gently add boiling water to the roasting pan until it reaches half way up the ramekins, taking care not to splash the water into the ramekins.

Cover loosely with foil and bake until the centers of the custards are just beginning to set and are no longer liquid, 55 to 65 minutes.

Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and let cool completely. Refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, combine the remaining ½ cup sugar and black pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon over the top of each custard. Broil 2 inches from the heat source (or use a crème brulee torch) until the sugar is dark gold and caramelized. This will take about 5 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm.

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