Stop waste! This is the motto of the majority of people who know how, now more than ever, “fridge-emptying” recipes are indispensable and useful! The pleasure of kneading your own bread, pasta, cookies, but also bringing sweet and savory preparations to the table with whatever you have has been rediscovered! This is exactly the case with these fantastic flans, which can obviously be reinvented with available seasonal vegetables, as the true art of recycling dictates. Just pay attention to the food when buying and storing it, and most importantly, have a bit of imagination! In this case, some remaining not-so-fresh carrots, unsuitable for a salad, the last potatoes, and a lonely beet in the fridge gave life to some flans that are, without false modesty, truly delicious!!! This is also a perfect solution for using up vegetables, cheese, or about-to-expire eggs. Everything is put en cocotte, following French tradition, and drizzled with a mixture of eggs and milk, or if you prefer, béchamel, and then cooked slowly in a bain-marie in the oven. The result is truly surprising, and what’s even more amazing is that they are prepared in a few simple steps. You can serve them as an elegant appetizer, as a side dish, or main course, a true dish. They couldn’t be more versatile!!!
All “vegetarian” recipes are free of meat and/or fish; however, they include other foods with animal proteins, such as eggs and cheese.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6 flans
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients:
- 3 Potatoes
- 3 Carrots
- 1 Cooked beet
- 2 Eggs
- 2.1 oz Tuma canestrato cheese
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1.8 oz Grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
- to taste Breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 0.35 oz Butter
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black pepper
Preparation:
Peel the potatoes and carrots and dice them (fig. 1).
Blanch them in a saucepan with plenty of salted water for 5-6 minutes, drain them and rinse under cold running water. Butter 6 cocottes and sprinkle breadcrumbs inside. Distribute the potato and carrot dice inside (fig. 2).
Add the diced beet and tuma as well (fig. 3).
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, grated Parmigiano, ginger, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper. Pour the mixture evenly into the cocottes (fig. 4).
Place the cocottes in a high-edged baking dish filled with boiling water up to halfway up their sides and put in the oven (fig. 5).
Bake the flans in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes or until they appear golden and a nice crust has formed on the surface.
Remove from the oven and serve hot.
And voilà… your potato, carrot, and beet flans are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from FeFe’s kitchen!
TIP:
Keeping the same quantities as in the recipe, try replacing the carrots with pumpkin or pair potatoes with artichokes and peas, according to your availability and creativity. The cheese can also be replaced with other melting cheeses like scamorza, provolone, or even mozzarella.
