Carrot Flan and Wild Rice with Lentils

The recipes that I am about to post probably will not become standards in our household, however I think they are worthy of a post anyhow. Every one of our 3 children liked this meal which is a success in its own right, plus it was really unique, totally vegetarian and probably not too shabby in terms of total protein content and vitamins.

I combined two recipes from two different sources: one is a "carrot flan" that I got off a French e-mag that I subscribe to, and the other is a wild rice and lentil recipe from Epicurious.com.

If you are making these together, I suggest starting with the wild rice, as it takes the longest to cook. I forgot to take a photo of this step, but first you will boil 2 1/2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan, then add 1 cup wild rice, lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. When the rice is done you will drain it and set it aside.

Meanwhile, insert 2 whole cloves into half an onion, peel 1 carrot and halve it lengthwise, peel two garlic cloves, and halve one celery stalk lengthwise.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the vegetables, and saute for about 10 minutes. At this point you may add 4 ounces of chopped pancetta and saute for another 5 minutes as called for in the recipe, but I omitted it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be vegetarian :)

Add 1/2 cup of French green lentils and stir for a minute. Then add 1 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. I didn't cover the lentils as the recipe says, because all that water needs to go somewhere...

Meanwhile, you may start your carrot flan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel 200 grams (nearly half a pound) of carrots, and chop a bunch of parsley. Define a bunch? ... you know, really as much as you feel like chopping :-D In my case, not much:

Whisk together 2 eggs, 1 ounce grated Emmenthaler (or Swiss, or Gruyere) cheese, 200 centiliters of heavy cream (somewhere between 3/4 cup to 1 cup), and some salt and pepper.

Divide the carrots and parsley evenly between 4 ramekins (or 5 small, if you're stretching this recipe to serve a family of 5 like me...) Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Invert onto a plate, and serve alongside the lentils and rice, which have been combined and gently reheated, and the large aromatic vegetables removed.

Et voila! A thoroughly unique vegetarian meal :)

(P.S. The author of the carrot flan recipe says that you can use this recipe with just about any vegetable, zucchini, for example, or cherry tomatoes rather than the carrots.)