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Cooking Notes
ChrisG
Try roasting the zucchini slices (lightly salted) on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or so. If ambitious turn over after 15 minutes. Roasting will draw our the moisture and give the zucchini a nice caramelized flavor
Diane Matza
Try as an alternate, grate 2 medium zucchini and mix with two beaten eggs, four ounces fresh cream cheese, 2 chopped scallions, two tbs flour, salt and pepper to taste. Spread in oiled 9 by 12 baking pan, should be thin, at 375 for 45 minutes
David Tanis
To avoid a watery custard, be sure not to over-bake (think over-cooked scrambled eggs, which release a lot of water too). But sautéed zucchini is a fine idea, and scallions, chives or even chopped jalapeño, or a pinch of cayenne, would be good additions.
1030Gg
Flan is a Latino dessert. It game from either Spain or Cuba . This is a Zucchoni casserole. Or Zucchini gratin. Please don’t mis-use the term flan. It’s an important and traditional dessert in many cultures. It just doesn’t make any sense here.
sissy
I appreciate everyone's notes which enabled me to adjust. I sauteed the zucch with onions. Added cayenne. Added an extra egg. Added extra 15 minutes cooking time. Enjoyed by all!
Karine Duteil
I grated the zucchini (press in my hand to remove the water) and it mixed perfectly into the flan.
Charles Michener
A glance at the ingredient list shows why so many readers ended up with a watery mess. 1 1/2 cups of milk or half-and-half is too much. David Tanis's recipes for quiche call for a mere 1 1/4 cups of cream or half-and-half and 3 eggs. That ratio produces a perfect custard. Also: baking the zucchini at 300 or so will draw out more of the moisture.
Feedmyboys
An excellent dish to serve if you want tuna sandwiches for lunch. I made this at camp. Quelle disastre. I love a tender custard, and so did not overcook for one minute. The top centimeter was cooked, and very pretty. I let the flan sit for a half hour. The underbelly was watery, liquid, and essentially raw. Out came the can of tuna. Those who considered more eggs, and adding bread, were sharper than I!
Margo
Zucchini flan makes a good brunch, lunch or light supper dish. For the best texture, be careful not to overbake; remove from the oven when the custard is still a little jiggly. The flan tastes best served at room temperature.Cut milk to 1/2 cupTo avoid a watery custard, be sure not to over-bake (think over-cooked scrambled eggs, which release a lot of water too). But sautéed zucchini is a fine idea, and scallions, chives or even chopped jalapeño, or a pinch of cayenne, would be good additions
CarolJ
I wish I'd read the reviews before making this dish for last night's supper, as I also ended up with a bland and curdled, watery mess beneath the attractive golden crust. In the past, I've successfully made many a custard, so I'm not sure what went wrong. For lunch today I ran the leftovers through a blender with a bit of chicken stock for a pleasant enough creamy soup.
Silvia
I made this twice. The first time it was perfect. The second time it had too much water. Both times I had blanched the zucchini and then sautéed them with butter and garlic until nicely golden. The only difference between the two times is that the first time I had used whole milk and heavy cream 50/50. The second time mostly whole milk. I overcooked the second one, because after 30 minutes, when pierced with a knife, the blade came out wet, so I let it cook 10 min more. Worth one more try.
PGK
I grilled the zucchini for delicious charring and caramelization. Used a classic quiche ratio for the custard (3 oz milk per egg, or 1.5 cups milk to 4 eggs) and swapped out the suggested herbs for scallions, oregano and fresh mint, with high-quality Greek sheep's milk feta. The recipe is a great jumping off point, and you can really make it your own!
Flora
1st NYT recipe I made which I rated at less than 5*. There was a 1/2 in of water at the bottom of the pan when I cut the flan. One reader noted that the cause was overcooking the eggs. I think that 2 1/2 cups of milk is waaay too much. Martha Rose Schulman's Gratin only has 1/2 cup of milk.
Susan S.
Used zucchini, summer squash, red onion and jalapeño. Sautéed till carmelized, drained on paper towel. Layered onion/jalapeño, then zucchini, then summer squash. Mixed 5 eggs, 1 can evaporated milk, 1 liberal splash of 1/2&1/2, ~4oz whipped cream cheese (its what I had) in blender, added spices. Covered tightly with foil and placed in water bath at 375. Cooked for 30. Took off foil, added cheddar to top and cooked uncovered 15 min more. PERFECTLY done. Light, creamy, flavorful. A keeper!!
next time
Reduce milk by one cup
Leonie
I really liked this! It was easy and delicious.I used one cup of milk per two eggs. For the cheese I used Parmesan.I also roasted the zucchini in a pan with salt and pepper and then put them on a kitchen towel to soak up any excess liquid. Because of that, eventhough I slightly overcooked it, it wasn’t not very watery.
KAB
This was tasteless. I wish I’d read the notes. At least the dog liked it.
Sue W
I too had a watery mess underneath that beautiful cheesy crust. Will try again with less milk. Disappointing.
Georgiana
reduce milk. Reduce heat to 325. grate one clove of garlic into custard. I made 1/2 the recipe and used 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup cream, 2 eggs. With the basil, thyme, nutmeg and garlic, very good and also preserved the fresh taste of the zucchini. sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top.
Kathy H.
No Nutmeg, instead a little cumin, made it a little more savory. Took the advice to bake the zucchini first, which was tasty. Used oat milk and it made a pretty nice custard.
Lori W
Oh so good. Subtle nutmeg, nice custard. I think blanching the zucchini and drying it on a towel was so important to get the extra water out. I will use this again! Lovely!
ellen
I sautéed yuppie mushrooms and the zucchini separately. Used 2 c cream/milk.
mer
Made with zucchini and lots of roasted poblanos and queso from Costco. Extra liquid but tasty.
Hal
A couple worthwhile notes:Blanching the zucchini is ideal, but two tips - strain from the salted boiling water and spread out on a half sheet pan that is slightly tilted (to facilitate draining). When cool, place zucchini in a tea towel and swing the water goodbye. The zucchini is durable. Taste the egg /half/half (ideal) mixture to determine salt and nutmeg levels.If using GLASS casserole keep temperature at 375 & watch it more carefully & cool in a shallow water bath briefly.
zoemyers
As written, way too watery.
Cooking notes
Added chopped parsley, basil, chives, thyme, marjoram. Flavor was great, but flan was quite watery, will try roasting the zucchini slices next time.
Margo
There are so many things wrong with this recipe that I don't know where to start. I tried many of the suggestions. Let's just say skip it. There are too many great zuke recipes on the internet to bother trying to fix this one.
Jammy
Read reviews and compromised with 1 3/4 cup of cream instead of 2 1/2. I also tried to press as much water as I could out of the zucchini by putting another towel on top when they were cooling but I still had a bit of liquid at the bottom of the finished flan. I guess I’d probably just try to get even more liquid out next time and it would be perfect.The consistency was so custardy and creamy - loved it! Just needed a tad bit more salt...
Eleanor
This was quite watery. Admittedly I was in a hurry and did not dry the zucchini well and then overbaked it. Were I to make it again, I would grate the zucchini and then wring it out in a dish towel before either sauteing it or putting it directly into the baking dish.
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