Creamy baked leeks
The leeks are cooked slowly in cream and cheese until soft and golden. If your oven is too hot, the cream may split – this won’t affect the taste, but will result in a less pretty dish.
GET AHEAD Steam, cover and chill the leeks a day before making the dish.
This recipe is from the ‘Ginger Pig Christmas Cook Book’, by Tim Wilson and Rebecca Seal.
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Step 1
Cut the leeks into 5cm lengths, then halve lengthways down the middle. Wash well to remove any grit or soil, but try not to let the layers come apart too much.
Step 2
Set a steamer basket over a pan of simmering water. Add the leeks and steam for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the cream, crème fraîche, cayenne and Dijon mustard with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper, making sure the mustard is completely combined into the sauce.
Step 3
Place a pan large enough to take the cream mixture over a medium heat. Add the butter and, once it has melted, add the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring to form a paste, then gradually add the milk, until it is a smooth sauce. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream mixture, beating until absolutely smooth.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan oven 150°C/mark 3 and grease a medium-sized ovenproof dish (mine is 24 x 18cm) with oil. Arrange the leeks in more or less a single layer in the dish, with cut sides facing up. Sprinkle over a third of the Cheddar cheese. Pour the cream mixture evenly over the leeks, opening up the layers to ease the cream between them, then sprinkle over the rest of the cheese.
Step 5
Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. If the leeks on top seem to be browning too fast, place a sheet of foil over the top of the dish, but don’t cut the cooking time as the leeks need it to become tender.
