Spinach Flan Filled with Mozzarella

Ingredients

• 1 kg spinach
• 8 small mozzarella balls
• 30 g pine nuts
• 0.5 onion
• 60 g grated Grana Padano
• 40 g Butter
• 20 ml olive oil
• 30 g flour
• 30 g Butter
• 300 ml milk
• 2 Eggs
• Salt
• pepper (for the mill)
• 8 heat‑proof ramekins
• butter (for the ramekins)
• semolina (for the ramekins)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Clean and wash the spinach, then place it in a large pot with slightly damp water and simmer for about 10 minutes over medium heat until it wilts. Turn frequently. Drain well and let cool slightly. Squeeze out remaining liquid by hand, then finely chop the relatively dry spinach with a sharp knife or a meat slicer.

2. 2.

   Peel and finely chop the onion. Add oil to a non‑stick high pan and toast the pine nuts until golden brown. Remove them, then add 40 g butter to the hot pan. Add the onion and sauté in the hot butter. Add the spinach and cook together for about 5 minutes, draining excess liquid. Stir in the pine nuts and remove the pan from heat.

3. 3.

   Melt 30 g butter gently and whisk in the flour until the fat has absorbed all of it. Gradually pour in the milk while stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil over low heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt, then remove from heat. Stir in the Grana Padano and spinach mixture. Finally beat the eggs and fold them into the sauce.

4. 4.

   Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Butter the ramekins and dust with semolina. Fill each ramekin halfway with the green mixture, place one small drained mozzarella ball in the center of each, then cover with more green mixture. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and fill the pan with enough hot water so that the ramekins sit up to half full. Bake for about 30 minutes until set. Serve warm on plates.