Quick and Easy Spinach, Pea and Spring Onion Flan

vegetarian-spinach-pea-spring-onion-flan

I used to resent quiche. I resented it for looking like a pizza but having neither the taste nor the texture of one but I mostly resented it for usually being the only thing available to a vegetarian at a buffet. It was also – to my mind – the realm of little old ladies who had that little old lady smell about them. Therefore, I avoided quiche for years and it’s only been in the last few years I’ve been able to eat it without feeling like I’m punishing myself. I still ignore it at buffets though as a matter of principle.

In case you’re wondering why I’m banging on about quiches and little old ladies when I made a flan, according to Google there isn’t any difference between a flan and a quiche; both are shortcrust pastry shells filled with a custard-like filling, although flans can also be sweet (which I can testify to as my mum used to fill a spongy ready-made flan case and fill it with tinned peach slices and jelly – I’m sure you can guess which decade this was in). So, although I could have called my flan a quiche, I decided to call it a flan because before  Googling, I thought a quiche was more involved, whereas this vegetarian flan was as simple as frying some veg in some butter, chucking in an egg and some cream, then pouring it into a shortcrust pastry-lined tin and topping it with cheese.

I used spinach, peas and spring onions as that’s what I had in but you could use any vegetables you like – for example, courgettes and red peppers are in season now and they’d go great in a flan with mushrooms.

It’s probably too late to mention it’s not exactly vegan-friendly so if you want a vegan quiche, here’s my recipe for a Vegan Mexican Crustless Quiche.

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Quick and Easy Spinach, Pea and Spring Onion Flan
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • About three-quarters (roughly 300g) of a pack of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
  • 25g butter
  • 6 spring onions, sliced
  • 2 large handfuls of spinach, shredded
  • 125g frozen peas
  • 150ml single cream
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper
  • 30g cheese, grated
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C
  2. Line an 8" round tin with the pastry
  3. Melt the butter in a frying pan
  4. Add the spring onions, peas and spinach and fry for 2-3 minutes
  5. Remove from the heat
  6. Add the cream, egg and salt and pepper, and stir in thoroughly
  7. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell
  8. Top with the grated cheese
  9. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden
  10. Leave to sit for a few minutes to help the egg set

 

 

 

 

 

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15 comments

    1. Hi Brandie, single cream is dairy cream (it’s a bit thinner than double cream) but if you can get soya cream where you are, that would be fine.

  1. Love love love quiches aka flans but somehow even the best shop bought ones really don’t hold a candle to a freshly baked homemade ones!!

  2. I don’t know why but I have never tried a savoury flan before, I love spinach and this sounds AMAZING! Will have to try this

    1. I don’t see why not! Although you’d probably have to leave it to cool down and set a while longer, as I don’t think it would hold together so well without the crust.

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