Savoury French flan a rich treat that’s worth the effort
Combination of Roquefort, pear flavours makes a tangy dish that’s worth the effort
Dear Eric: About eight months ago my appetizer at a lovely place called Les Retrouvailles in Lyon, France, was a flan-like dish with pears and Roquefort. It was thin, no more than two centimetres thick, had no top pastry layer, probably an egg base for the filling with a delicate pear and Roquefort flavour. Any ideas how to make it?
Peter
Dear Peter: I saw this style of dish in France a few years ago, but couldn’t remember exactly how it was made. I knew it was egg-based, though, and that clue and some research lead me to discover a few similar creations.
All had a rich, custardy filling, where tangy, wonderful and blue/green-streaked Roquefort cheese was blended with eggs, cream and/or milk, sour cream and seasonings. That filling was then poured over sliced pear and baked.
In one case there was no crust in the baking pan, simply a coating of breadcrumbs. But Peter said the dish he had did have a pastry bottom and in the varia- tions I found, puff pastry or, more frequently, pâte brisée was used.
Pâte brisée is known as a short crust pastry because its rich butter content makes it more delicate than other types and it’s what I used in my recipe for Roquefort and pear flan.
To make it, you’ll need a false bottom flan (tart) pan, which has a removable bottom that makes it easier to unmould the flan once baked.
To ensure a crisp crust, it’s blind-baked for 15 minutes before filling. To prevent the crust from puffing during that process, you line it with foil and fill it with raw rice, dried beans or pie weights.
My flan filling was about two centimetres thick, similar to what Peter described, but my crust rose higher than that to ensure none of the precious filling spilt over it.
I made the flan the day before serving it and I’m glad I did. It’s fussy to make and preparing it in advance let me get things cleaned up well before my guests arrived.
If you do it make it in advance, you can serve the flan cold or at room temperature, which is what I did. You could also heat it in the oven a while, unmould and serve it warm. The flan can be sliced into small wedges and be served as an appetizer, or be cut into larger wedges and served as a main course for lunch.