Children are known for not liking vegetables; my son is no exception except for spinach, which he adores. He’s eaten it since he was 2 years old prepared in any way: sautéed with a little oil, boiled, as a pasta sauce, in meatballs… as long as it’s spinach. Over the years — my son is now 15 — we’ve tried practically every recipe that uses this ingredient. One of the best, in my opinion, is the spinach flan accompanied by a creamy Parmesan sauce.
A dish that satisfies both vegetable lovers and those who wrinkle their noses, and it’s a clever recipe because depending on needs it can be a vegetarian main course, an appetizer or finger food if cut into cubes, or a light side dish if enjoyed simply without the sauce.
Try it and you won’t regret it.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4 single-portion flans
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 13 cups fresh spinach (or 9 oz frozen)
- 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (liquid)
- 2 Eggs
- to taste Salt
- pinches Pepper
- pinches Nutmeg
- as needed Butter
- as needed Breadcrumbs
- 2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 3.5 tbsp Butter
Preparation
In the meantime your flans will have finished cooking. Remove them from the oven and serve them very hot accompanied by their Parmesan sauce.
First, boil the spinach. If you use fresh spinach, wash it first; if you use frozen spinach you can put it directly into the pot. Once cooked, squeeze it very well and roughly chop it with a food processor or a knife. Add a pinch of pepper, a grating of nutmeg and season with salt.
Mix the eggs, the Parmesan and the cream into the spinach. Combine all the ingredients well. Take single-portion molds (I buy disposable ones at the supermarket), butter them and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Divide the flan mixture among the molds.
Place the molds in a deep baking dish and pour in water until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the sides of the molds for baking in a bain-marie.
Preheat the oven to 356°F, put them in the oven and let them cook for about 25 minutes. Since each oven has its own timing, before removing them do the skewer test — it should come out completely dry — if they’re not ready continue cooking for another 5 minutes.Now let’s make the sauce. Put a saucepan on the heat with the butter and melt it slowly. Lower the heat and gradually incorporate the flour, stirring carefully so that no lumps form. At this point add the milk little by little, continuing to stir. When the mixture has blended well, raise the heat, bring to a boil, then add the grated Parmesan. Continue cooking, stirring continuously, until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency. Season with salt. If there are lumps, blend the sauce with an immersion blender to obtain a completely smooth cream.
Notes
You can comfortably use frozen spinach if you don’t feel like washing fresh leaves, which can be quite a nuisance… Once your flans are ready you can store them in the refrigerator for 2 days. If you want, you can prepare them in advance and freeze them raw. When you decide to cook them, take them out of the freezer one hour before and then bake them following the recipe instructions.
