Friday 2 January 2009

Onion and Goats Cheese Flan

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I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and let me wish you a happy and healthy 2009!

One last post from Germany before I fly back to England on Monday. The Christmas dinner went well, no major disasters, we could have only done with a few more sprouts. I'll share the recipe for the roast when I get back. It was good and definitely tasted of Christmas, with all the Cranberries and spices in the filling.

For now I have one more recipe to share that has been a longtime favourite with me and which I also made for the party last month. Ever since I first made Onion and Goats Cheese Flan have I been 'in love' with it. Making it involves peeling and chopping nearly 1kg of onions, but it is so well worth it. The result is a flan filled to bursting with sweet, caramelised onions and topped with a wonderful mild and tangy chevre. Perfect, complementary flavours. Whenever I make it for a party, BBQ or Picnic, I look forward to taking the leftovers to work the next day, but I should know better by now, because there never are any.

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If you don't like making your own pastry or are pushed for time, just use some shop bought pastry or even a ready made pastry case.

Onion and Goats' Cheese Flan (makes 1 flan)

For the pastry:
300 g plain flour
150 g butter, softened
1-2 tbsp water

For the filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
750 g red onions, finely sliced (that's about 4 very large onions)
4-6 shallots, finely sliced
1 tsp sugar
1tbsp fresh thame, chopped
150 g goats' cheese, preferably a mild, creamy variety
1 egg
3 egg yolks
100 ml double cream
100 ml milk 1-2 teaspoon
salt
1-2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

To make the pastry, sift the flower and 1/2 tsp of salt into a bowl.

Add the butter and with you fingers rub the butter into the flower until absorbed.

Add water to form a thick but workable dough.

Cover the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

On a lightly flowered surface roll out the pastry thinly to cover a 28 cm flan dish.

Prick the base a couple of times with the fork and bake blind in a preheated oven (200 C, 400 F or Gas Mark 6) for about 15-20 minutes.

While the pastry is baking start on making the filling by heating oil in a large frying pan.

Fry the onions and shallots on a gentle heat until soft and starting to colour, around 15-20 minutes.

Add the sugar, thyme and salt to taste and mix well.

Spread the onions into the part-paked pastry case.

Beat the egg, yolks, cream and milk together and pour the mixture over the onions.

Crumble the goats' cheese over the top and sprinkle with some black pepper.

Bake in a preheated oven (200 C, 400 F or Gas Mark 6) until the filling has set, approximately 25-40 minutes.

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19 comments:

Peter M said...

Sylvie, Happy New year and keep on cookin' that melted goat cheese looks good!

Anonymous said...

That looks really good and is useful at this time if year if you've got any leftover cheese too isn't it.

Happy new year Sylvie!

Jan said...

Happy New Year Sylvie to you and your family!
I love goats cheese and I love onions so this is perfect. Looks delish.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Happy New Year.

The flan looks great, all those onions with goats cheese - delicious.

Trish Sharp said...

holy mary mother of....
that looks just to good for words.
at first i saw the word flan and thought of the mexican desert made with onions and goat cheese and thought you had lost your mind. but then i read on and realized your GENIUS!!!!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons bring
the best to you and yours!
I love the big chunks of goat cheese in your flan as well!!!

Marie Rayner said...

That looks delicious Sylvie! Glad you have had a nice visit with your family! Happy New Year! I am looking forward to more goodies from you this year!

Abitofafoodie said...

Happy New Year, Sylvie.
This looks so good - just my kind of thing. The combination of goats cheese and caramelised onions is so delicious, isn't it?

David Hall said...

Happy new year!

Onions, the unsung hero of food. Lovely.

Cheers
David

Deborah said...

Wow - this sounds so delicious!!

Court said...

Just the mention of goat cheese makes me salivate.

Maggie said...

Happy New Year!
The flan looks wonderful, the combination of onions and goats cheese is a match made in heaven. It looks fabulous.

Nic said...

Happy New Year Sylvie!
Glad to hear you had a good Xmas.

Anonymous said...

This looks really delci ious Sylvie - will try it out...
happy new year

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Happy New Year Silvie! What a way to bring it in, that flan sounds absolutely delicious! Right up my street! I am copying it down now :)

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

'Flan' is such an unappetising word, don't you think?

Put it together with spinach and goat's cheese, though, and it becomes much, much more appealing!

Happy New Year!

Sylvie said...

Thanks Everyone for the new year wishes and the kind comments!

Dazy said...

I've always wanted to make flan. But the whole caramel making process gives me the creeps! I tried once,
and it failed. May be I should give it a try once again bcoz this looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

Made this for a potluck a bit ago, huge hit, thanks!