Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Brûlées

Meyer lemons are rounder and sweeter than regular lemons and have a subtle flowery scent. If you can't find Meyer lemons, use two teaspoons regular lemon rind (and save the juice to use in Baby Artichokes with Creamy Horseradish-Dill Dip, page 198).

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 brûlée)

Ingredients

• 1  cup  whole milk
• 1/2  cup  evaporated fat-free milk
• 1  tablespoon  grated Meyer lemon rind
• 1  teaspoon  chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 3  large egg yolks
• 2  large eggs
• 1/4  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 2  tablespoons  sugar

Preparation

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat mixture over medium heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover and steep 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Strain milk mixture through a sieve into egg mixture, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in vanilla. Return mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until mixture coats a spoon.

Divide the mixture evenly among 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Place ramekins in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch.

Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until center barely moves when ramekin is touched. Remove ramekins from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

Sift 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over custards. Holding a kitchen blowtorch about 2 inches from the top of each custard, heat the sugar, moving the torch back and forth, until sugar is completely melted and caramelized (for about 1 minute). Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

261 (27% from fat)

Fat:

7.9g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.9g,poly 1g)

Protein:

9.5g

Carbohydrate:

38.6g

Fiber:

0.2g

Cholesterol:

267mg

Iron:

0.9mg

Sodium:

104mg

Calcium:

187mg