Leek Croustade

Name: Leek Croustade
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 1 pie, 4-6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 100 g breadcrumbs; 100 g ground almonds; 50 g walnut pieces; 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for greasing the pie dish); 50 ml water; 2 large leeks; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 25 g butter; 2 tablespoons cornflour; 300 ml milk; 75 g cheddar cheese, grated; seasoning, and (a pinch of dried dill works well) or herbs (a pinch of dried dill works well)

Submitted by Mrs B

"What could be more English than a recipe using Cheddar Cheese? Cheddar Cheese originated in England, in the fifteenth century, it was stored in Somerset's Cheddar Gorge caves to mature. The Welsh might claim the Leek as theirs, but it's got a long English pedigree too. This is what I would describe as a 'mid-week' supper dish. It's a no-frills sort of meal, but extremely tasty and easy to make. The grated cheese topping, looks wonderful straight from the oven, golden brown and bubbling. But if you think it needs a bit of 'dressing up', add a sprig or two of parsley before taking this pie to the table. If you're really really really pushed for time, use bought white sauce and ready grated cheese."

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Ready In:: 50mins
Ingredients:: 12
Yields:: 1 pie
Serves:: 4-6

ingredients

CROUSTADE
100 g breadcrumbs
100 g ground almonds
50 g walnut pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for greasing the pie dish)
50 ml water
FILLING
2 large leeks
1 tablespoon olive oil
25 g butter
2 tablespoons cornflour
300 ml milk
75 g cheddar cheese, grated
seasoning, and (a pinch of dried dill works well) or herbs (a pinch of dried dill works well)

directions

Preheat the oven to 350F, 180C; lightly grease an 8 inch pie or flan dish.
Place the bread crumbs, ground almonds and walnut pieces in a food processor and 'pulse' together until the walnuts are chopped small and an even crumb mixture is achieved; with the processor running slowly, pour the olive oil then the water down the feeding tube; process until the ingredients are well mixed and start to ball together as a 'dough'.
Spoon the mix into the pie dish and using the back of a spoon, press the mix evenly over the base and up the sides; bake for about 10 minutes, until the crust starts to brown.
Meanwhile, clean and slice the leeks (I like them cut in half lengthways then sliced 1/4 inch thick); in a large pan, cook the leeks gently in the oil, until they are just tender; spread the leeks evenly over the baked base.
Next make a white sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and mix well together (a balloon whisk is great for this); slowly add the milk and keep stirring until the sauce thickens and starts to bubble; season the sauce.
Pour the white sauce over the leeks then sprinkle the cheese over the top; return the pie to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbling.

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Reviews

This recipe whilst tasty enough is without doubt the funniest meal I have ever cooked. My family have renamed it leaak and muesli lasagna. You should really have a go at making this recipe if only for the sheer humour value. The look on your families faces when they take that first bite will be priceless.

tanya

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Mrs B

Worcester Park, Surrey

I live with my husband and 2 cats in Worcester Park; a quiet typical 1930s suburb (which no one has ever heard of!) about 12 miles South West of London. I'm a fair weather gardener and as my husband is a vegetarian I grow a few easy vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, mainly in containers. My husband loves growing flowers, the brighter the better, and we have a pretty garden as a result. Our cats, Araminta and Purrl, like it too! I do a lot of cooking and try to keep our diet as healthy and varied as possible. Although I work full time, I use very little in the way of pre-prepared foods. This is partly because of the limited choice of vegetarian meals, which I think are overpriced anyway; but mainly because I like to know what goes in my food! I love using the Internet for all the great ideas it gives me. Last year I participated in the Zaar World Tour (under my previous public name Caroline Blakey), which was great. Mr B and I tried lots of new foods and discovered new favourite meals. Researching recipes for the Tour was really interesting, however as I didn't have time to try them all, some were posted untested. I'm still working my way very slowly through them. To make matters worse I keep seeing other recipes I want to save and have also participated in Zaar world Tour II. So many recipes, so little time to make them! <img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/kzbhansen/Banners/Animation3.gif"> My 'rules' for posting recipes are a) if I wouldn't make a particular recipe, I won't post it and b) if my husband wouldn't eat it, I won't post it. This means that all my recipes are vegetarian friendly. As you will see from the number of recipes saved in my cookbooks, I particularly enjoy making jams and chutneys; I'd say it was one of my favourite hobbies. We always have a good supply of home preserves; my friends and work colleagues are well supplied too. If we won the lottery (say £5m, as a good number) we'd like to give up work, move to the country and buy a place with a bit of land. In my dreams this would be a manor house or old vicarage, with a walled garden, an orchard where I could keep hens, a vegetable garden, etc, etc, etc! In my more realistic moments (the £1m win perhaps) I would like to run a B&B, perhaps offering Vegetarian taster weekends. Luckily it costs nothing to dream.......I’d also love more time to read, do embroidery, learn a language, see more of the countryside; and of course play on Zaar.

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