Bouchons au Thon

Found this recipe in the Washington Post. According to the source, "bouchon au thon" means "tuna cork," which certainly doesn't sound nearly as appetizing as bouchon au thon. :) In any case, it is a pretty delicious recipe, though if you need to make your own creme fraiche (which you probably do since it is pretty hard to find in stores), you'd have to plan ahead because creme fraiche takes about 15 hours to be ready. But, it is worth it!

BOUCHONS AU THON

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces canned (water-packed) chunk-light or solid albacore tuna, drained
• 1 cup (4 ounces) finely grated or shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1/3 cup creme fraiche (see recipe below)
  
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• Leaves from 2 or 3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease 8 wells of a standard-size muffin tin with nonstick cooking oil spray. (Clara's note: You will need to fill the other 4 wells with water and then drain it later, so you want to make sure that those 4 wells are on the same side of the muffin tin for easy draining.)
   
2. Place the tuna in a medium mixing bowl; use a fork to break up pieces any larger than a dime. Add the cheese, creme fraiche, tomato paste, eggs, onion, parsley and salt, stirring to thoroughly combine. (The mixture will be a soft orange-pink color.)
3. Divide the mixture evenly among the 8 muffin wells. Use water to fill any empty wells halfway full to prevent those wells from scorching. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops and edges of the bouchons are set.
4. Carefully pour the water out of the muffin wells, then dislodge the bouchons by running a rounded knife around the inside edges of their wells. Let them sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully extract them and transfer to individual plates (2 for each portion).
5. They will collapse a bit as they cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The bouchons can be baked and cooled completely, then wrapped and frozen for up to 1 month.

Yields: 8 muffin-size bouchons (4 lunch-size servings)

CREME FRAICHE (from RecipeZaar)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tablespoon cultured buttermilk
  

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream and buttermilk.
2. Cover the bowl with a towel and let stand in a warm place until thickened, about 12 hours.
3. When thickened, cover bowl tightly and refrigerate until well chilled, 2 to 3 hours.

Links:

• http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2009/03/04/bouchons-au-thon/ (bouchons au thon recipe)
• http://www.recipezaar.com/Creme-Fraiche-22044 (creme fraiche recipe)