Pumpkin Gorgonzola Flans

Now there are three words SoupAddict never expected to utter in one sentence, much less cook together in one dish: pumpkin + gorgonzola + flan.

Intriguing, though, no? And look at the result: gorgeous. This is the kind of upscale, rustic-sophisticate dish you serve to the Joneses, the ones who are always one-upping you. And being really smug about it.

(Of course, if you are the Joneses, stop right there and hit the Back button, because we’re talking about you behind your back, and we can’t do that if we’re not, you know, behind your back. K’thanks.)

Serve these up in your most charming ramekins, with your prettiest silverware, and place with much fanfare front and center before each guest. Then lean over the table, bat your eyelashes, and say to the Joneses, “So, what fabulous things have you been cooking lately?”

The holidays are all about showing off sharing and revenge camaraderie with the ones you tolerate love, right?

LOL, SoupAddict’s just joshin’.

We all know that the true spirit of the holiday season is measured by the number of blinking lights and plastic decorations in your yard.

This is another winning invention from Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook, Around My French Table. The best thing about these flans is that they’re fantastically simple. There’s nothing to screw up. In fact, the directions can be summed up in seven words, as follows:

Blorp!

Whirl!

Chop!

Pour! Sprinkle!

Bathe! Bake!

Done!

(If you look closely, you can see SoupAddict’s claw in the spoon’s surface.)

And now, the one commentary you’ve been waiting for: what’s the Gorgonzola like with pumpkin puree? SoupAddict is biased, because she likes strong cheeses, so the combination wasn’t the least bit off-putting. It’s a different experience, the flavor of melted Gorgonzola vs. chunks of raw cheese — it’s far less pungent than you’d expect.

This is a fantastic dish to serve for autumn entertaining. Do consider buying the book – between this dish and the stuffed pumpkin, Dorie is really rocking the winter squash.

(Note: Whenever I find a recipe we’ve prepared for French Fridays with Dorie somewhere else on the web, I’ll go ahead and post it. I found the Flan recipe here)

Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Greenspan likes serving these flans in their cups, but you can unmold them. While the French would garnish this flan with creme fraiche, Greenspan prefers a tiny drizzle of honey or maple syrup. The flans are best served the day they are made. Keep, lightly covered, at room temperature for about 6 hours before serving.

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 1/2 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled (generous 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped roasted walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter six custard cups or ramekins. Line the bottom of a roasting pan that’s large enough to hold the cups comfortably with a double layer of paper towels. Put the custard cups in the pan. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

Put the pumpkin, eggs, yolks and cream in a food processor or blender. Process to blend. Season with salt and pepper; pour the custard into cups. Divide the Gorgonzola among the flans, poking the cheese into the custard a little bit, just to distribute it. Sprinkle the tops of the flans with the walnuts. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake until a knife inserted into a custard comes out almost clean, 35-40 minutes. Transfer the roasting pan to a rack; let the flans cool in the water bath to just warm or room temperature.

This post is participating in French Fridays with Dorie, a blogging project where we cook our way each week through the recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook, Around My French Table. Given the book’s newborn status, we’ve been requested to not post the recipe. SoupAddict hopes that you’ll understand and will perhaps be inspired to either buy the book or seek out a recipe of a similar nature to try on your own. Or better yet, join us on French Fridays with Dorie!

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