Luca Ciano's Broccoli Flan with Anchovy Sauce & Toasted Almonds

In episode 3, Luca dives into the subtle world of anchovies, revealing their depth, complexity and surprising versatility. Discover Luca’s delicious recipe of Broccoli Flan with Anchovy Sauce & Toasted Almonds with utilising Smeg’s stick blender & blender

Catch the new season of Luca’s Key Ingredient live every Sunday at 9:30am on Channel 10 or 10Play on demand.

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 30mins

INGREDIENTS 

200g cooked broccoli, pureed

200ml fresh cream

2 free-range eggs

60g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

30g fine breadcrumbs

150ml extra virgin olive oil

20g almond flakes, toasted

10g unsalted butter, room temperature

Extra virgin olive oil to garnish

Salt and pepper

OPTIONAL - Chilli extra virgin olive oil, Chef Luca Ciano

Anchovy Sauce

12 anchovy fillets, Delicius Anchovies

15ml extra virgin olive oil

250ml fresh cream

50ml fresh milk

½ tbsp corn starch

METHOD:

1.  To prepare the anchovy sauce, pour a drizzle of oil and a clove of garlic into a saucepan, let it flavour over low heat and as soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the anchovies.

2. Stir and cook over low heat to till anchovies are dissolved.

3. Add the fresh cream and cook for 5 minutes. Separately, dissolve the cornstarch with milk. When the sauce begins to boil, add the starch and milk mixture little by little, just enough to thicken the sauce slightly (you may not need the whole dose). Blend it with a blender to make it smoother.

4. For the broccoli flan, preheat oven to 180°C. In a large bowl, mix together the broccoli puree, cream, eggs, Parmigiano Reggiano and chilli olive oil if using. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Grease 4 ramekin dishes with the butter and a pastry brush, then add breadcrumbs. Remove excess breadcrumbs.

6. Pour the broccoli mix into the ramekins. Cook in a water bath in the oven for 10-18 minutes - add water to a shallow pan making sure that the water level is lower than the rim of the ramekins. Carefully place the ramekins into the dish and place in the oven.

7. Remove the water bath from the oven, and the ramekins from the bath. Remove flans from the ramekins.

8. Serve the flans on a plate with the anchovy sauce and toasted almonds.

9. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and chilli oil.