Serves 4 (or 6 as a starter)

By Philippe Broad

Paris, 7 August 2005—Impress your dinner guests with these simple yet elegant authentic dishes from Provence.

Short or flakey Pastry for a 10 inch flan dish
4 Eggs
1,5 dl Milk
150 g Double Cream
100 g Grated Gruyère (or Cheddar)
30 g Mozzarella cut into fine slithers
3 cloves Garlic
4 Fully ripened Tomatoes
1 bunch finely chopped Basil
Salt
Pepper from the mill

1. Skin the tomatoes, remove the pips and dice finely. Finely chop the basil, setting aside 1 tablespoon for decoration. Peel and crush the garlic. Beat the eggs thoroughly, then add the milk, double cream, grated Gruyère (or Cheddar) and the fine slithers of Mozzarella. Add the diced tomato and season with salt and pepper. Blend in the chopped basil and the Garlic.

2. Pre-cook the flan base for 10 minutes. Pour in the filling and cook for 30 minutes in a medium to hot oven. You can check the cooking using the point of a sharp knife. The flan should be a nice golden colour when ready. To serve, demould onto a large flat dish and sprinkle with chopped basil.

this flan works equally well using some left-over ratatouille instead of the tomatoes.