Best 3 Asparagus Flan Recipes

ASPARAGUS FLAN WITH CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make flan:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of wax paper, then butter paper. 3Steam asparagus in a steamer set over boiling water, covered, until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Purée asparagus in a food processor until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. (You will have about 2 cups purée.)
• Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl, then whisk in asparagus purée.
• Pour asparagus mixture into pan and bake in a hot water bath until flan is set and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Transfer pan to a rack to cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Make sauce while flan cools:
• Put all sauce ingredients in a metal bowl, then set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Heat sauce, whisking until cheese and butter are melted, and then stirring with a wooden spoon, until sauce is slightly thickened and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove bowl from pan.
• Run a thin knife around edge of flan to loosen, then invert a serving plate over pan and invert flan onto plate. Remove pan and discard paper. Cut flan into wedges and serve immediately with sauce.

ASPARAGUS-AND-MINT FLAN WITH POACHED SCALLOPS AND SHRIMP

Steps:

• For the flan, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Steam the asparagus spears until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Place in a food processor and add the cream. Process until smooth. Add the yogurt cheese. Process until smooth, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the mint. Whisk in the eggs, salt and pepper.
• Spray 4 6-ounce ramekins with vegetable oil. Divide the mixture among the ramekins. Place in a roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake until flan is set, about 30 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the pan and let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, for the sauce and shellfish, heat the 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Add the scallops and cook until opaque, about 1 minute longer. With a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and scallops from the pan. Peel the shrimp and reserve the shells. Add the wine to the pan and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, to deglaze the pan. Add tomato, water and shrimp shells. Simmer for 15 minutes. Pass sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Place in a clean pan. Add the cream, bring to a boil and cook until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Set aside.
• Heat the 1 teaspoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus tips and the mushrooms and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
• To assemble, run a knife inside the rim of each ramekin to loosen. Invert 1 flan onto each of 4 plates. Warm the sauce over low heat and toss in the shrimp and scallops. Divide among the plates, placing the mixture beside the flans. Place the asparagus tips and mushrooms over and around each flan. Serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cut 1 1/2 inches from the tip of the asparagus; set 16 pieces aside. Cut asparagus stalks in half crosswise. Cut the bottom halves into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside; you should have about 2 cups. Halve remaining half crosswise and chops; you should have about 1 cup. Set aside separately.
• Prepare an ice-water bath and set aside. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add coarsely chopped asparagus bottoms and season with salt; cook for 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and continue cooking until water is almost completely evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add milk, cream, and spinach; cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer asparagus mixture to a bowl and set in ice-water bath; let cool completely. Transfer to the jar of a blender or the bowl of a food processor; blend until smooth. Add eggs and yolk; season with salt and blend until combined.
• Set 16 1/4-cup heatproof glass bowls in a roasting pan; divide asparagus mixture evenly between bowls. Set roasting pan on oven rack and carefully add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the bowls. Cover with parchment-paper-lined aluminum foil and bake until asparagus mixture is set, about 18 minutes. Remove flans from roasting pan and transfer to refrigerator until chilled.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice-water bath and set aside. Add reserved asparagus tips to boiling water and cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice-water bath to cool. Remove from water bath and pat dry; halve tips lengthwise and transfer to a small bowl; set aside. Add finely chopped asparagus to boiling water; cook until bright green in color, about 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to ice-water bath to cool. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; set aside.
• Bring another medium pot of water to a boil; add white vinegar. Prepare an ice-water bath and set aside. Carefully crack quail eggs into a large bowl, taking care not to break the yolks. Using a spoon, stir boiling water to create a swirling motion and carefully add eggs to water. Cook until whites are set, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain and transfer eggs to ice-water bath to cool. Trim whites using kitchen shears so that you have 16 individual poached quail eggs; season with salt.
• When flans have chilled, drizzle asparagus tips and finely chopped asparagus with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar each; season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Divide finely chopped asparagus evenly among flans. Top each with a quail egg and two asparagus spears. Using kitchen shears, snip each quail egg to expose yolks; serve.