Broccoli Timbales
Serves: 4 - 6
Preparation time: 1 hours plus 15 min. for the Sauce Béchamel
Timbales are an elegant way to present food. The one I am proposing here can be an excellent first course on its own combined with a savory tomato coulis or a vegetable julienne. But it can also accompany a main course like the Lamb Medallions with Broccoli Timbales. The recipe I use here requires a Sauce Béchamel. We will prepare it first and then move on to the timbales.
First familiarize yourself with the Sauce Béchamel recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch broccoli, about 650 gr (1 1/4 lbs)
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tbsp. butter plus butter to grease the molds
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/8 teasp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) Sauce Béchamel
Preparation:
Prepare the Sauce Béchamel first. We only need about 1/2 cup, you can freeze the rest.
Broccoli Timbales (60 minutes): Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Cut off the broccoli florets and separate them into 2,5 cm (1 inch) pieces. Do the same with the broccoli stems, discarding any blemished ones. You should have about 8 cups of broccoli pieces. Bring water to a boil, add salt and cook the broccoli pieces over medium heat until they are tender, about 7 minutes. Drain broccoli in a colander and put the pieces in a food processor or blender. Blend thoroughly, there should be about 2 1/2 cups of pureed broccoli. Scrape into a bowl. Add the beaten eggs, the 2 tbsp. butter, salt, pepper, nutmeg and the 1/2 cup Béchamel sauce. Blend well. Butter the inside of 6 individual souffle dishes or timbales molds - I use Chinese tea cups, they work quite well. Spoon the broccoli mixture into the dishes and arrange them in a baking dish large enough to hold all of them. Pour boiling water around up to half the height of the dishes, this is called Bain-Marie. Place them in the oven, bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the dishes from the Bain-Marie and let cool off for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the inside of each dish and invert the mold over a plate. Leftover timbales can be eaten cold.