Orange Flan with Pistachios

Rinse oranges in hot water and wipe dry. Grate the zest of 1 orange on a fine grater.

Peel 4 thin strips of zest from 1 orange with a vegetable peeler, place in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Cut all oranges in half and cut 4 thin slices from 1 unpeeled fruit.

Squeeze the oranges and measure 400 ml (approximately 1 2/3 cups) juice. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Add half of the sugar to the juice. Season with liquid sweetener to taste. Add eggs and beat with a hand mixer until creamy, but not frothy. Add the grated orange zest.

Rinse 4 oven-proof ramekins (150 ml capacity) in cold water. Melt the remaining sugar in a skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown. Carefully pour about 2/3 of the caramel into the prepared ramekins.

Dip the orange slices in the remaining caramel in the skillet, remove and let cool on a wire rack or on aluminum foil. Distribute the orange-egg mixture among the ramekins.

Place ramekins in a pot and fill with boiling water so about ¾ of the height of ramekins are immersed in water. Put the lid on and cook the flans over low heat for 35-40 minutes.

Insert a wooden skewer into the centers of the flans. If skewer comes out clean, the flans are done. Remove ramekins from the pot and let cool for at least 2 hours.

Coarsely chop pistachios with a large knife. Cut the reserved orange peel strips into very fine strips (julienne).