Post Furlough/Student Food : Carrot Flan

 DD and I are doing the shopping at the moment as late as possible in the evening to avoid as many people as possible - 9 pm last night.  Upside-you don't end up standing in a huge queue with people who think it is OK to remove their masks whenever they talk or cough, or that just covering your mouth is OK.  Downside some of the shelves are emptier than normal because you end up dodging the shelf stackers.  

With both of us grabbing things off the list and putting them in the trolley to get round as fast as possible somehow we ended up with 2kg of carrots instead of one.  So this is a recipe I have been itching to try (the original one is in pounds and ounces for those old enough to remember a time when those existed!).  Just need to make a version with vegan cheese to make sure that works - no DD is not vegan (and this has eggs in it) but has been diagnosed with a dairy allergy.  I guess I'll just have to try it twice for comparison!

Anyway a meat-free recipe for a main meal that is a little different and another one where you could use your own home grown veg.

Carrot flan (serves 4)

shortcrust pastry made with 170g flour and 85g margarine

1 medium onion (peeled and chopped)

40 g butter or margarine

2 eggs (separated)

50g grated mature cheddar cheese

175g carrots (grated)

2 tbs  flour

¼ pint milk

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/400°F/200°C.

Fry the onion in the butter or margarine until they begin to brown. Turn down the heat and add the grated carrots, stirring them until they soften to a puree.

Add the flour and milk and stir until the mixture thickens.

Add the grated cheese, salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks. Leave to cool and then fold in the whites, stiffly beaten.

Line an 8″ flan tin with the pastry and fill with the mixture.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until the filling is well risen.

Serve with new potatoes and steamed veg or salad

Variations:

Not tried yet but...

Use a shop bought pastry (or even a shop bought crust) if your pastry skills are not the best

Add cheese to the pastry as well as the filling.

On the herbs and spices front carrots usually partner well with parsley, oregano, thyme or dill.  For the spices cumin and coriander work well with carrot.

Cost (from Tesco as usual for the mid range price comparison)

plain flour - 220 g (45p for 1.5kg) - 7p

margarine - 125 g (soft spread 59p 500g) -15p 

onion - 10p

2 eggs (89p for 6) - 30p

mature cheddar - 50g (£1.55 for 220g) - 36p

carrots- 175g (41p per kilo) -8 p (assuming some waste with topping and tailing and peeling)

milk - 1/4 pint (1 pint 50p - yes the most expensive way!) - 13p

total cost =£1.19 or 30p a portion.