Yummy! Nettle and Bacon Flan

My bike is in need of repair at the moment (something to do with a cotter pin needing replacing ). It is just about holding out for short trips to and from school but I doubt if it would make it to the market and back in one piece. This has put a bit of a strain on my shopping habits and forced me to shop and forage closer to home. Luckily nettles are a little more abundant than a couple of weeks ago so I have been arming myself with my trusty, yellow, rubber gloves, to take the girls to and from school, and gathering fresh nettles daily!

The smell of nettles is really rather wonderful - all, sort of, green and peppery, much like their taste. Texturally they worked brilliantly in the flan that I made yesterday. I have made similar ones using either Kale or watercress but I think that the nettles actually worked better than either of  those.

Unlike when you use them in soup, you do need to blanch the stingers before hand. Simply plunge them into a pan of  boiling water, for all of two minutes, and then quickly refresh under the cold tap. This should ensure that they keep their fabulous, vibrant green colour.

Because the nettles are so young at the moment they are nearly all just 'nettle tip' anyway so I haven't had to throw much in the way if stalk away or even do much chopping. For the flan, I gave the blanched nettles a few quick slices with the knife before adding them but it probably wasn't necessary.

The actual flavour of the nettles was rather overpowered by the cheese and bacon but the texture that they provided was absolutely fabulous. Watercress can be stringy, unless finely chopped, and kale might be considered a bit tough. The nettles, however, were soft yet had some fibre to them and worked just perfectly with the smooth cheesy custard and the crisp salty bacon.
 

We ate this warm with baked potatoes and salad but I actually think that it was even nicer the next day when it was cold! I have only given it a score of 4/5 Clean Plates because two of the tasters are not so keen on flans in general. They did however agree that using nettles was infinitely better than my kale version and both made a good effort at eating it!

Nettle and Bacon Flan (4/5 Clean Plates)

220g Plain Flour

30g Polenta

140g Cold Butter

50g Parmesan

1 Egg

2 Eggs

300ml Double Cream

150g Smoked Streaky Bacon

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Red Onion

80g Nettles (blanched)

100g Mature Cheddar

Nutmeg

1. Place the flour, polenta and butter into a food processor and whizz until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

2. Add the Parmesan and the egg and pulse until the pastry comes together. Add a small amount of cold water if needed.

3. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

1. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry so that it is about the thickness of a pound coin and big enough to line a 26cm tart case.

2. Line the tart case, leaving some overhang to allow for shrinkage and chill for another 30 minutes.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas 6 and blind bake for 15 minutes, continue to bake for another 5 – 10 minutes until the pastry is golden.

4. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 170C/Gas 4. Trim off the overhanging pastry.

5. In a large jug whisk together the eggs, yolk and the cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

6. Remove the rind from the bacon and chop into 2cm pieces, dry fry until lightly browned and set aside. Chop the onion and crush the garlic. Add a splash of oil to the frying pan that you have just cooked the bacon in and soften the onion and garlic.

7. Arrange the bacon, onion, garlic and blanched nettles in the tart case and sprinkle over the grated cheese. Pour in the egg mixture and cook for 30 -40 minutes until the egg has set and the top is golden.