Leek & Cheese Flan

My leek & cheese flan is a super recipe for a light Springtime lunch with wonderfully crisp pastry and creamy leek filling.

This recipe fills a 10” or approx. 25cm fluted flan tin.

For the pastry you will need;

200g plain flour

1 tsp English mustard powder

Pinch of salt

100g butter

75g parmesan cheese finely grated

4 tbsp cold water

For the filling;

500g leeks, prepared (3-4 leeks)

1 fat garlic clove

1 medium onion

150g mature cheddar cheese

200g crème fraiche

3 large eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

To make the pastry mix the flour, salt and mustard powder together then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the grated parmesan cheese and add the cold water one tablespoon at a time, lightly bringing the pastry together with a palette knife. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and bring it all together into a flattened round ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for one hour.

Melt a generous knob of butter and a splash of olive oil into a large frying pan. Add the leeks, onion and chopped garlic – on a low temperature gently sweat the vegetables making sure that they don’t colour (this will make the flavours bitter). When soft and almost transparent tip into a colander to drain the excess moisture.

Butter the flan tin, base and sides, to make lifting the cooked flan out nice and easy! Roll out the pastry in a large round shape approximately 7-8cm larger than the flan tin and lay over then working from the middle to the edge fit the pastry to the tin with a good overhang. I usually leave the edge of the pastry case over-hanging to allow for any shrinkage in the oven, but if you now rest (ideally chill) the uncooked pastry case before filling it shouldn’t shrink. Fork a few holes across the base to allow escaping steam. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C and heat a flat baking tray in the oven. When the oven is hot pop the flan case onto the baking sheet – the extra heat under it will help to give a really crispy case and not a ‘soggy bottom’. Bake for 15 mins then take the case out of the oven and brush with beaten egg (filling up those fork holes) – return to the oven for five minutes.

When the base is cooked, fill with a layer of leek mixture, grated cheddar and more leeks. Then beat together the eggs and crème fraiche, season the vegetables and pour over the egg mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is risen and nicely brown. Serve hot from the oven or allow to cool – these tarts are great for freezing and will also keep for 3-4 days in a fridge as a standby for lunch, a picnic or supper!