Vegetable Flan (Quick and Variations)
Vegetable flan is a vegetarian main course I love because it allows you to transform a variety of vegetables into a delicious and colorful dish. I often use zucchini, peppers, eggplant, and other vegetables, alternating them with cheese in a pan and baking in the oven.
- 2 large courgettes
- 2 red peppers
- 1 large eggplant
- 400g smoked scamorza cheese
- 6 tablespoons of Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese
- about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- about 10 leaves of fresh basil
- First, wash the vegetables and cut them lengthwise into long strips. Then, grill them on a griddle or cook them in a nonstick pan. A short sear is enough, just enough to soften them and make them pliable. Finally, oil a baking dish and assemble the vegetable flan in the pan in this order: first a layer of zucchini, then a handful of Parmesan cheese, then slices of scamorza cheese, and finally basil.
- Then continue by adding a layer of peppers, a drizzle of oil, then a layer of eggplant, and finally another layer of parmesan, scamorza slices, and basil. Make as many layers as you have vegetables. Finally, finish with a layer of zucchini, another sprinkling of parmesan, and the last bit of scamorza, this time finely chopped, and scatter it over the top. Then add a generous drizzle of oil and a few basil leaves. Finally, bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (160°C fan-assisted) for about 40 minutes in the center rack. For the last 5 minutes, turn on the grill and move to the top rack to encourage golden brown gratin. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Before unmolding or slicing, it's important that your vegetable flan is well set. If you want well-defined slices like the ones you see, you'll need to let it set for a few hours. A trick to getting perfect slices is to let it cool completely, then reheat it in the oven for 15 minutes at 180°C, covering it with aluminum foil. Your vegetable flan is ready.
I started building my own vegetable garden. Especially during the summer, it always gave me tons of vegetables, so I started looking for different ways to use them all together. One day, after grilling a huge amount of vegetables, I thought of layering them with scamorza and parmesan, a bit like you do with the classic
Parmigiana, but in a taller version, with more variety, and without sauce. I still remember the satisfaction when I cut the first slice to serve it: the flan was perfectly firm, golden on the surface and soft and chewy inside, with all the colors of the vegetables clearly visible in each layer. But the real surprise came at the table, because everyone loved it. From that moment on, vegetable flan has also become one of my favorite ways to reuse vegetables.
leftovers or those sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be eaten. After having made all kinds, today I'm sharing my recipe with you.
The perfect recipe for my Vegetable Flan, explained step by step, with all the tips from choosing and cooking seasonal vegetables to assembling them to prevent them from leaking in the oven. You'll also find lots of...
Variations with seasonal vegetables, to prepare it both in summer and winter. I love it both hot and cold, not only as a main course, but also as a
single dish such as potato crumble; as an aperitif and for
buffet if portioned into small squares and even as
How to make vegetable flan:
First of all, wash the vegetables and cut them lengthwise to obtain long strips.
Then grill them on a griddle or cook them in a non-stick pan. They only need to be seared for a short time, just enough to soften them and make them pliable.
Finally, grease a baking dish and assemble the vegetable flan in the pan in this order:
first a layer of courgettes, then a handful of parmesan, then slices of scamorza and finally basil:
Then continue by adding a layer of peppers, a drizzle of oil, then a layer of aubergines, finally a new layer of parmesan, scamorza slices and basil.
Make as many layers as you have vegetables.
Finally, finish with a layer of zucchini, another sprinkling of Parmesan, and the last bit of scamorza, this time finely chopped, sprinkled over the top. Then add a generous drizzle of oil and a few basil leaves.
Finally, bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (fan assisted 160°C) for about 40 minutes in the center rack. Turn on the grill for the last 5 minutes and move to the top rack to help the gratin turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes.
Before unmolding or cutting the slices, it is important that your vegetable flan is well settled.
If you want well-defined slices like the ones you see, you'll have to wait a few hours for it to set.
A trick to getting perfect slices is to let it cool completely and then reheat it in the oven for 15 minutes at 180°C, covering it with aluminum foil.
Here is your vegetable flan ready.
Tips and Variations
If you want to make a vegetable flan with potatoes, I recommend using 2, cutting them very thinly into rounds with a mandolin, in which case it will not be necessary to blanch or cook them and you can distribute them between the base of the pan and on the surface.
As an alternative to the vegetables listed, you can use raw carrots, depending on the season, always sliced lengthwise. Then, sliced beetroot, radicchio, savoy cabbage, or blanched leaf cabbage. Raw or sautéed mushrooms, or sliced raw or baked pumpkin, or even boiled and drained spinach.
For those who want to enrich it, you can add a portion of my Béchamel sauce between the layers, or 500 g of well-drained ricotta, seasoned with salt and pepper. Or 250 g of sliced cooked ham between the layers.
If you'd like to make a single-vegetable pie, I recommend the Zucchini Pie, with its soft, cheesy filling and crispy breadcrumb topping. The Pumpkin Pie, a soft and delicious flan with a scamorza cheese filling. Or the Potato Pie with boiled mashed potatoes, ham, and cheese.
