Savory Squash Flan

I had a similar flan for dinner at a fancy corporate event at the Met and it pretty much boggled my mind and stomach to find yet another delicious way to serve humble winter squash.

I googled “Squash Flan” and found an easy recipe from Gourmet Magazine, which I’ve tweaked below. I served it in a slice-it-yourself type way but you could also make it in individual ramekins and serve as fancy-smancy first course unmolded on a bed of chard or kale with roasted brussel sprouts and carrot rounds rolling lazily about the plate.

The flan is rich, but still light and almost pudding-y. Please believe me when I tell you that crispy sage leaves are to die for. Honestly and truly. Don’t be surprised when I come at you with a recipe that is just crispy sage leaves and a dipping sauce. Numnum!

Serves: 4-5
Time: 30 minutes active, 2 – 21⁄2 hours baking

Savory Squash Flan with Dijon-Currant Sauce and Crispy Sage Leaves
*Flan adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 medium squash, (butternut, hubbard, or similar)
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp garlic powder
freshly cracked pepper
1 ¼ tsp salt
butter
6 Tbsp unsweetened currant jelly (or cooked fresh currants)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
10 sage leaves
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Halve the squash lengthwise, discard the seeds, and place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for an hour, or until soft to the touch. Cool and set aside. Reduce oven temp to 325.

Scoop flesh from the squash. Discard the skin. Puree in a blender until smooth and creamy.

Add two cups of the squash puree to a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, half and half, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Save the rest of the squash for another recipe.

Prepare a 8×2 inch round cake pan by buttering the bottom and sides. Line the bottom of the pan with a layer of wax paper and butter the paper too.

Pour the squash mixture into the cake pan and set the cake pan into a larger baking pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan until it’s 2/3 up the sides of the cake pan to create a hot water bath for the flan.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the flan is solid and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

Let the flan cool for at least 15 minutes and unmold by setting a plate on top of the flan and then quickly inverting. Carefully peel off the wax paper.

For the mustard/currant sauce heat the currant jelly and mustard in a small sauce pan. Adjust for salt/pepper.

Meanwhile, you can shallow-fry the sage leaves in the olive oil over medium heat. With tongs turn them once during the frying process, and remove from oil when they hold their shape - they should not start to turn to turn brown - about 1 minute.

Serve flan cut into wedges with a dollop of currant sauce on top a few crispy sage leaves to garnish.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 9:02 pm and is filed under Casseroles & Baked, Harvest, Autumn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.