This recipe for Minted pea and Pancetta pea tart incorporates a classic flavour combination, that of ham and peas. As you know quiches and flans are one of my favouritest things and this version is also one of Simons. By using minted peas you get the hint of mint without it being too strong. If you aren’t keen on mint then use plain peas instead. This recipe also uses 6 eggs so it's great if you have a glut to get through. I could eat a savoury tart, flan or quiche every day of the week, hot or cold I love it.
Serves 8 or me and Simon with a little to spare!
Link to measurement conversion chart
Ingredients
- 1 quantity of shortcrust or gluten free pastry
- 170g pack of cubed cooking pancetta
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 350g frozen minted peas defrosted
- 6 large eggs
- 284ml single cream
- 100g mature cheddar grated
- Salt and pepper
You will also need
- 1 deep flan dish or loose bottomed cake pan, 20 cm diameter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190c
- Line the deep flan dish with pastry and blind bake for 15 – 20 mins then allow to cool slightly. Increase the oven temperature to 200c
- Fry the pancetta until crisp, add the shallots and garlic then cook for a further 2 – 3 mins
- Stir in the peas and combine thoroughly
- In a jug beat the eggs then slowly add the cream beating to mix, season with a little salt and pepper
- Combine the eggs, cheese pancetta and vegetables in a bowl
- Pour the eggy mixture into the pastry case and sprinkle over a little extra grated cheddar
- Bake in the oven for 40 – 45 mins until golden brown and set
- Eat and enjoy!
Serving suggestions and variations
- Try using chopped ham ends instead of pancetta
- For a stronger minty flavour add a handful of chopped fresh mint to the eggs
- Flans make a great hot meal served with a jacket potato but are equally good served cold with salad or taken on a picnic. Save me a slice!
- Bake up a few spicy wedges at the same time as the flan and serving them with a few beans on the side
- Try adding a tsp of paprika to the eggy mix for a bit of bite
- Arrange a few slices of tomato on the top before you add the last sprinkle of cheese to add a bit of decoration to your tart or flan
- If you are trying to avoid pastry or need to be gluten free then bake on it’s own in a greased casserole or try forming and blind baking a crust using a Potato rosti mx instead. See below for a no crust version, we used a single protion silicon pie case and it worked perfectly.
Acknowledgements
The idea for this recipe came from Delicious magazine and has been tweaked by us. It is a flan combo I’d not tried before as I just never thought of adding peas and it works just fine. Thanks for the delicious idea all those at Delicious magazine
You might also like to try one of the following from our collection;
- If you are looking for something tasty to have on the side of your flan then our potato salad works very well
- Quesadilla make a great lunchtime snak with or without the black beans and rice
- Got loads of eggs then Alex's chocolate brownies will help use them up in no time.
Happy eating!