Poireaux Et Gruyère Flan
This Flan recipe is a great combination of leeks, eggs, and sumptuous cheese. Easy to make, and (potentially) a great vegetarian dish, too… a quiche by any other name! Here are more delicious quiche recipes Tasty Spinach Quiche Recipe, Easy Crab Quiche Recipe, or a simple Cheese Omelette.
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❤️About This Recipe
Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese, sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming more assertive, earthy, and complex with age.
When fully aged (which can take up to a year) it tends to have small cracks which impart a slightly grainy texture. It is traditionally used in French onion soup, and Croque-monsieur, but in a quiche such as this it introduces a savoriness without dominating the other ingredients.
Where Does Gruyère Cheese Originate?
Gruyère is named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland, and originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne.
Before 2001, when Gruyère gained Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status as Swiss cheese, some controversy existed about whether French cheeses of a similar nature could also be labeled Gruyère (French Gruyère style cheeses including Comté and Beaufort, so if you want to be purist then substitute one of those).
📝Ingredient List
- shortcrust pastry (store bought or use my Pate Brisée Recipe)
- leeks
- butter
- crème fraiche, sour cream, or heavy cream
- milk
- eggs
- Gruyère cheese
🔢Instructions
- Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about 3mm/1/8in. thickness, and use it to line a 23cm/9in. flan case, ensuring that the lining comes up above the top of the case (do not trim it).
- Line with foil and then rice, pasta, or ceramic beans, and bake blind for 10 minutes.
- Remove the foil and its contents, and bake for a further 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the leeks into approximately ½cm/1/4in. slices.
- Melt butter in a pan, add the leeks, and stir to coat.
- Cover and cook over on low heat for 8 minutes.
- Uncover and cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Lightly beat the crème fraiche, milk, and eggs. Stir in the leeks and most of the cheese, and season well.
- Pour into the flan case.
- Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and bake for 25 minutes, or until set. (A knife blade when inserted into the flan filling, careful not to pierce the crust, will come out clean when cooked.)
🔄Substitutions For Gruyère Cheese
These substitutions may change the flavor of the finished dish, but are still delicious!
- Cheddar
- Parmesan
- Comté
- Beaufort
🙌Similar Recipes
- If you like the idea of a dish like this one that is eaten like a pizza try Pissaladière, it is made with anchovies, black olives, and caramelized onions, layered on a bread dough crust that tastes heavenly together!
- Then there is the traditional French Quiche Lorraine which has endured through the years for a very delicious reason!
❄️Storage
- A cooked and cooled flan can be covered with clear wrap and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- A flan "well wrapped" can be frozen for up to 4 months, but it may not be the same consistency when thawed as before frozen and the crust may be soggy.
Top Tip
Cook the flan at a low, even temperature to prevent lumping and no peaking while cooking which cools down the oven.
❔FAQ
Traditionally a flan has very similar ingredients to a quiche or omelette. The basic ingredients are milk or cream, and eggs with various add-ins for flavor. A flan can be made sweet or savory. Some flans also have a pizza like crust.
Some people would say Mexico but flan is eaten in many countries with slight variations in each.
📖 Recipe
Traditional Leek and Gruyère Flan Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gr shortcrust pastry shop bought; or use our Pate Brisée recipe
- 400 gr leeks trimmed weight
- 25 gr butter
- 300 gr crème fraiche
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 3 large eggs
- 125 gr Gruyère cheese grated
Instructions
- Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about 3mm/1/8in. thickness, and use it to line a 23cm/9in. flan case, ensuring that the lining comes up above the top of the case (do not trim it).
- Line with foil then fill with rice, pasta, or ceramic beans, and bake blind for 10 minutes. (The foil and filling you choose will prevent the crust from bubbling.)
- Remove the foil and its contents, and bake for a further 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the leeks into approximately ½cm/1/4in. slices.
- Melt the butter in a pan, add the leeks, and stir to coat.
- Cover and cook over on low heat for 8 minutes.
- Uncover and cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Lightly beat the crème fraiche, milk, and eggs. Stir in the leeks and most of the cheese, and season well.
- Pour into the flan case.
- Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and bake for 25 minutes, or until set. (A knife blade when inserted into the flan filling, careful not to pierce the crust, will come out clean when cooked.)
Did you make this & like it, or not, let us know?!