The spinach flan, ricotta, and parmesan, is a classic recipe, which can be used as an appetizer or a side dish. Today I present it as an appetizer with smoked salmon, a very successful flavor combination. The spinach flan can be served individually (like mine), but it can also be baked in a pudding or loaf pan. Indeed, unlike vegetable flans based on milk, béchamel, or cream, this one is made with ricotta and parmesan, and therefore remains more compact and can be sliced. It is a versatile recipe, suitable for many combinations and different occasions. Moreover, it has few ingredients, a simple execution, and a great result, even aesthetically. In short, the spinach flan is a chameleon, a great friend of the creative cook.
You can combine these small flans with another similar course for an excellent appetizer at an elegant lunch, such as:
⁕ Small fennel flans with orange and licorice reduction
⁕ Carrot flan in parmesan crust – How to use leftovers
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven, Water bath
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 179.37 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 4.82 (g) of which sugars 0.72 (g)
- Proteins 17.08 (g)
- Fat 10.65 (g) of which saturated 5.95 (g)of which unsaturated 4.37 (g)
- Fibers 1.55 (g)
- Sodium 850.22 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 118 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the spinach flan
For eight individual portions
- 1.1 lbs spinach (already cleaned)
- 12.34 oz ricotta
- 2 eggs
- 1 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 7 oz smoked salmon (packaged)
- 1 tsp butter
- 8 sprigs dill (very small and optional)
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Tools
The immersion blender is very useful in the kitchen. I dare say it is indispensable. The first one I knew was from Tornado, my mother bought it at the boat show because it was a kitchen accessory for yachts. I mention this to say that I have been using it for many years. Today, there are a thousand models on the market at various prices. My – a Philips HR2657 – is new and has many useful accessories, including two discs for cutting vegetable spaghetti, which I often eat and are very good. My children gave it to me for my birthday, and I say thank you!
You might also need some single molds for flans, puddings, and soufflés. Once purchased, they are useful for everything. Mine are very simple, but even disposable aluminum ones can do, as well as multiple silicone or metal muffin molds.
How to prepare the spinach and ricotta flan
Let’s start by quickly blanching the spinach leaves, then draining them, running them under cold water to preserve the bright green, and squeezing them well.
Then continue by sautéing the spinach in a pan with a pat of butter and salt, to flavor them and completely dry from the vegetable water. Once the greens are slightly cooled, chop them coarsely, and in a bowl, mix the spinach with ricotta, pepper, parmesan, and nutmeg. Then break the eggs and mix the yolks into the mixture, blending with the immersion blender to achieve a creamy consistency. Before incorporating the egg whites into the mixture, beat them until very stiff. Finally, adjust the salt.
Put two tablespoons of mixture in each mold and level well. Then place the flans in a deep baking pan filled with water, so they remain submerged by three-quarters. Bake at 392°F for twenty minutes.
Once cooked, turn the hot flans onto a plate, and decorate with a slice of salmon gently placed and a few dill leaves.
Useful tips and suggestions
Pudding molds, in theory, are non-stick. I never trust them, because the possibility that the flans won’t come out or, worse, break, scares me a lot. So, I always grease and flour them always. This means that my flans always end up with a “shirt”: the aesthetics may lose a bit of polish, but it’s always better than the risk of breaking.
This spinach flan pairs very well with crispy bacon and a small cheese fondue. Additionally, it is delicious garnished with a coarse chop of toasted hazelnuts briefly sautéed in a little foamy butter.
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Note: This recipe contains affiliate links.
What is the name of Silvia Tavella’s other blog? And why does she write two?
I write two blogs because they are two completely different things and because one complements the other. This is a recipe book: I love recipes that remain my passion and that are a source of inspiration for me.
Due to them, I started writing short stories and dealing with food culture since our identity is closely tied to the territory where we are born and live and the gestures of care that cooking brings to the table. In my new blog, you’ll find all of this without annoying ads, it’s still called La Regina del focolare and you can find it here:
https://www.lareginadelfocolare.it
