Carrot Courgette & Parsley Flan

Memory Lane…

Don’t you love when you rediscover an old favourite? Although it has been more than two decades I clearly recall making this for a friend & his slightly eccentric sister who was visiting him from San Francisco while we were staying at his picturesque red brick schoolhouse hidden away at the end of an overgrown leafy laneway on the banks of the River Nanny… JJ

Ingredients & Costing…
Filling
Spanish Onion x 1 diced	0.33
Carrot x 125gm diced	0.15
Courgette x 125gm diced	0.33
Butter x 25gm	0.12
Cream x 125ml	0.58
Milk x 125ml	0.12
Eggs x 4 beaten (free range)	0.96
Fresh Parsley x 2 tblsp chopped	0.50
Nutmeg x pinch	0.05
Maldon Sea Salt	0.05
Freshly Ground Black Pepper	0.05
Pastry
Wholemeal Flour x 150gm	0.08
Plain Flour x 200gm	0.10
Butter x 175gm	0.88
Cold Water	0.00
6 Hearty Servings	€4.30

It Couldn’t be easier…

æ      Heat the butter in a heavy based saucepan and sauté the onions & carrots for approximately 10 minutes until the onions are translucent, add the courgette & cook for a further 5-10 minutes, allow to cool slightly

æ      To make pastry sift the flour into a bowl tipping in any bran left in the sieve, add the cubed butter, using your fingertips work together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, make a well in the centre & add 2-3 tablespoons of cold water. Mix to a soft dough adding more water if required, roll out the pastry & line a 9” greased flan case

æ      To “Blind Bake”  the pastry place a circle of greaseproof paper on top of the pastry (ensuring it comes up the sides of the flan case) & fill with dried or ceramic beans, place on the centre shelf of a preheated oven (gas mark 5) for 15 minutes, remove beans & greaseproof paper & bake for a further 5-10 minutes, (save the beans as they can be reused)

æ      Pile the vegetable mixture into the hot flan case

æ      Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream & pinch of nutmeg in a bowl, add the parsley & season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Pour mixture into pastry case

æ      Place in the top half of a pre heated oven (gas mark 5) for 30 minutes until golden brown & set. Allow to cool slightly before serving

Tip Off…

Swapping recipe tips with one of our kayaking instructors on a recent weekend away she commented that having made the “Roast Red Pepper, Carmelised Onion & Goats Cheese Quiche” with wholemeal flour she was pleased with the results which has prompted me to use the wholemeal version for this flan… JJ