Artichoke flan with cheese fondue and speck

Artichoke flan with cheese fondue and speck: if you like artichokes, pecorino, bacon and soft vegetable patties this soft flan is definitely for you. Is’ an artichoke flan and bechamel, without eggs, I bake it in the oven in a water bath and accompany it with a soft cream cheese and chopped crispy bacon. Is’ truly exquisite: If you don't like artichokes, You can follow the same pattern by substituting any other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Spinach, carrots….

Ingredients for 6 people: 

• 200 grams of very dense béchamel(for the bechamel recipe click here on basics)
• 5 artichokes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 15 grams of grated pecorino cheese Dop
• 30 grams of grated parmigiano reggiano Pdo
• salt and pepper
• some’ chopped parsley
• some’ chopped chives
• butter and flour to grease and flour the cups of aluminum

for the cheese fondue and seal

• 100 ml of cream
• 60 grams of grated pecorino cheese Dop
• 70 grams of bacon cut into thin strips

Prepare in advance a very dense béchamel sauce and let it cool completely. Meanwhile, clean the artichokes by removing the ends, the leaves harder and the internal barbette, put them for 10 minutes in water acidulated with a little lemon juice and then cut into thin slices. Put the artichokes in a pan with oil and toss, then add salt, pepper and cook covered over low heat until they are soft.

Merge a little’ chives and parsley and processing them to the mixer. Mix with a spatula artichokes smoothies to bechamel, Add the pecorino and parmigiano, Adjust if necessary with salt and pepper and fill with the mixture of aluminum baking cups, buttered and floured, up to 1 cm from the edge. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees static. Put the cups in a baking pan and fill it with water so it gets to 2/3 the height of the cups and bake for 30 minutes or until, touching the surface of flan with a finger, don't feel soft but compact.

While Flans bake, prepare the cream cheese: put the cream in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and then, fire off, Add the pecorino cheese mixing well. Allow to cool because the cream will thicken as it cools. Fry the bacon in a pan without any fat and set aside.

When the flan is cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then unmold the flan and serve with cream cheese, the Diced Bacon and garnished with a little’ chopped chives.

THE PAIRING: We suggest a white wine from Le Marche: a Verdicchio di Matelica Doc, produced by the company Fazi Battaglia, in the province of Macerata. That Verdicchio is characterized by scents of cedar and anise, from a fresh taste and mineral, with a good structure which makes it suitable for this recipe, very strong taste and decided.