Flan With Green Herbs

| September 19, 2011

Episode 123: Eggs-quisite
Recipe: Flan With Green Herbs (Flan of Green Herbs with Raw Tomato Sauce)

In home-cooking, a flan — be it sweet or savory — is a custard. The choice of herbs and greens used to season this savory flan can be altered based on your garden or market; bear in mind, though, that certain herbs — tarragon, basil, and cilantro, for example — have a stronger flavor and so should be used in smaller quantities than milder herbs like parsley or chervil. This makes a terrific first course.

Flan With Green Herbs

Serves 6

FLAN
6 cups loosely packed mixed herbs and greens, such as sorrel, cilantro, parsley, chervil, chives, basil, tarragon, and arugula
4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
6 large eggs
1/2 cup light cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

SAUCE
2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 4 large), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

FOR THE FLAN: Wash the herbs, greens, and spinach thoroughly and drain well. Coarsely chop.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in an 8- to 10-inch ovenproof nonstick saucepan. Add the nuts and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir in the herbs and spinach and cook for 3 minutes, or until soft and tender.

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk in the cream until blended. Add the mixture to the saucepan, along with the salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, for about 15 seconds, until semiset. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

Transfer the flan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until set and lightly browned.

MEANWHILE, FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE: Put the tomatoes in a food processor with the jalapeño, if using, and process until smooth. Add the salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil and process for a few seconds. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.

Spoon the hot flan onto plates and serve with the sauce.

Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

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Category: eggs, Recipes

About the Author ()

I was the Senior Digital Producer for KQED Food up until July, 2018.  Since 2001, I designed, produced, managed and contributed to mostly food-related websites and blogs for KQED including: KQED.org; KQED Food; Bay Area Bites; Check, Please! Bay Area;  Taste This; Celebrity Chefs; seven of Jacques Pepin's TV series websites; and Joanne Weir's Cooking in the City. I initiated the majority of KQED Food's social media feeds and maintained them up until 2017.  As far as content creation,  photography is my passion and I also shoot video and write stories. My photos have been used in articles for KQED Food, News, Arts, and Science as well as for promotional purposes in print and online. Professional education and training includes: clinical psychology, photography, commercial cooking, web design, information architecture and UX.

Comments (1)

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  1. steph says:

    mine had a huge air bubble in the center so i took it out before it was completely done. it was still really good 🙂