Italian Cheese Spinach Flan Recipes

ITALIAN CHEESE SPINACH FLAN

Steps:

• Pre heat the oven to 200c (180c fan forced).
• Roll out the dough thinly and line 2 x 20 cm pie plates.
• Place piece of foil in each base and cover with raw rice or pastry weights to prevent pastry from bubbling up during the cooking & prevent shrinking.
• Cook the pastry 15 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the foil and rice.
• Put eggs & cream in a bowl and whisk until well blended. Add the cheese's. spinach, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and divide the mix between the pastry shells.
• Reduce the oven temp to 185c (165c fan forced) and cook the flans for about 25 minutes or until the centres are set. Remove and cool on rack.

SPINACH FLAN

Steps:

• Base: Take the flour and salt in a bowl.
• Rub in all the butter till the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
• Sprinkle around 2 tblps of cold water to form a firm dough.
• Knead until smooth and roll out on a floured board and use to line an 8 inch tin or pie dish.
• Bake open in a preheated oven for 15 mins at 190C or till light brown.
• (the recipe calls for it to be lined with greaseproof paper and filled with baking beans. Not sure what these are so did not do this. It calls for 15 mins of baking. Then the beans have to be removed and the base has to bake for 5 mins more to dry out) Wash the spinach and cook with just the water that stays on the leaves after washing then for about 8 mins.
• Drain and chop coarsely.
• Reserve few 4-5 rings of the pepper for garnish and chop the remaining afer deseeding and cook for around 5 mins in some boiling water.
• Beat the eggs and milk (you can use semi-skimmed milk), then add the chopped onions, spinach, pepper, nutmeg and seasonings.
• Spoon the filling into the flan and cook in the oven (Preheated to 190C again) for 40 mins, or until set.
• Garnish with the pepper slices.
• Can be had hot or cold.
• But not in the pot nine days old!

CAULIFLOWER AND BROCCOLI FLAN WITH SPINACH BECHAMEL

Steps:

• Cook cauliflower and broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup cooking liquid. Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Cool.
• Rinse spinach, then toss in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just wilted. Drain and cool. Squeeze spinach dry; finely chop.
• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and reserved 2/3 cup vegetable cooking liquid. Whisk constantly over medium heat until sauce thickens and boils, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and cheese.
• Using fingers, coarsely crumble cauliflower and broccoli in bowl. Add spinach béchamel sauce; stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Butter 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Spread vegetable mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake flan until puffed and heated through, about 25 minutes if at room temperature and 35 minutes if chilled. Serve hot.

ITALIAN SPINACH CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate.
• In a large bowl, stir together the spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and bell pepper. Spread in the prepared pie dish so that it is a little thinner in the middle.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until the center is set, and the edges are lightly browned.