Seasonal Vegetable Flan with Cheese Sauce

Here’s a basic recipe for a seasonal vegetable flan with cheese sauce. The ingredients can vary depending on the vegetables you find most easily at the time you are in.

Ingredients

• 600 g of seasonal vegetables (for example: zucchini, carrots, spinach, cauliflowers)
• 2 eggs
• 100 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 200 ml of béchamel sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nutmeg to taste
• Butter to taste for greasing the pan
• Breadcrumbs to taste for the pan

For the cheese sauce:

• 200 ml of cooking cream
• 150 g of soft cheese (e.g., Taleggio, Fontina)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nutmeg to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Preparation

1. Clean and cut the vegetables as you like (into cubes or rounds). If necessary, blanch them slightly in salted water to soften them.
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the grated Parmesan cheese, add a pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix well.
3. Incorporate the vegetables into the egg and Parmesan mixture and add the béchamel. Mix until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
4. Prepare a baking dish or single-portion molds by greasing them with butter and sprinkling them with breadcrumbs.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared molds and level the surface well.
6. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 180 °C for about 20-30 minutes, or until the surface of the flan is golden brown and the consistency is firm.
7. In the meantime, prepare the cheese sauce: heat the cream in a small pot over low heat and add the diced or chopped cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
8. Remove the flan from the oven, let it cool down slightly, and then gently unmold it onto a serving plate.
9. Serve each portion with a spoonful of cheese sauce, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Curiosity

The flan is a very versatile dish and lends itself to numerous variations; you can add aromatic herbs to taste, such as thyme or rosemary, to further perfume your dish. Moreover, the cheese sauce can be enriched with spices or herbs depending on the flavor you prefer.