Two in One

What could be better than to prepare one recipe that then actually gives you two dishes? When I spotted a recipe for "Flan de Pointes d'Asperges au Pesto" in a summer special of "Côté Sud" that had pesto as a main ingredient I knew I had a winner. The recipe didn't even ask for homemade pesto but since basil is growing in abundance right now what could be easier?
So for the pesto you need: a real generous bunch of basil leaves, a good handful of pine nuts, 50 g (1/2 cup) of freshly grated parmesan, one clove of finely minced garlic and olive oil. Mix all ingredients into a fine paste, just adding enough olive oil to moisten the mixture. This recipe gives you the amount of pesto you need for the flan (about 130 g or 1/2 cup of pesto), but if you just double the quantities you will have the best ever pesto to stir into freshly cooked fettucine - a real feast that couldn't be simpler to prepare!

Back to the flan: Once you have prepared the pesto, preheat the oven to 140°C / 208° F
Mix the pistou with 4 large eggs, 50 g (½ cup) grated parmesan, 20 cl (¾ cup) cream (preferably thick crème fraîche) and a few turns of the pepper mill. Pour this batter into a buttered gratin dish, decorate with a bunch of asparagus tips (since asparagus season is over I cheated and used frozen that I defrosted before use) and bake for 35 minutes. Serve hot or lukewarm. Served with a big green salad on the side this flan makes an elegant and unbelievably fragrant summer lunch.