Friday, May 26, 2006
Leek Pie
Greatings Fellow Food Lovers,
I know this is not a curry, but as much as I love Kormas, Vindaloos, Madras and Biryani its nice to have a change sometimes. Don't you?
This is one of my family’s favorite dishes of all time and it has a very interesting history for us. It was first cooked by my Gran during WW2 so the recipe is almost an heirloom. Four generations of our family, as well as everyone who has come in by marriage, love this dish, so its got to be doing something right!
Try it! You will like it too because most people who have eaten it do! AND as a bonus its got no meat and can be made with vegetarian cheese. Do you know what that means? Yes, no more struggling to produce tasty dishes when veggie friends come over for dinner!
Just cook this up. It’s great with a simple salad; Lettuce, fresh organic spinach, sliced beefsteak tomatoes and crunchy cumber, tossed together moments before serving, drizzled with virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a twist of black pepper.Give your guests a portion of garlic bread wrapped in silver foil, straight out of the oven as well and you will have a dinner party to be reminisced about for some time...Guaranteed!
As for wine. Personally I’m tea total so not the right person to ask. However I’ve informed that a chilled Italian - A Chianti is fantastic when enjoying your leek pie outside in the Summer as the sun is setting in a red and amber sky. On cold winter evenings try a New World Red such as Murdoch James ‘Saleyards’ Syrah from New Zealand or a Chilean Almaviva.
By the way it’s not really a pie at all, its more like a hotpot!
LEEK PIE RECIPIE
INGREDIENTS
5 Large Baking Potatoes
500 grammes of Mature Cheddar Cheese
250 Grammes of Crumbly White Cheese (Cheshire, Wensleydale, or Caerphilly)
3 Leeks (tip: try and select leeks with lots of green on them, the trend today is to cut off the tops and leave you with the less tasty white part at the bottom)
500 milliliters of Milk
Pinch Of Salt
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prepare the Potatoes - Wash and thinly slice your potatoes and put to one side
2. Prepare the Cheese - Cut all your cheese up into cubes about 1.5 - 2 centimeters cubed, mix the two types of cheese together in a bowl and put it to one side
3. Prepare the Leeks - Cut the bottoms off your leeks, that is you slice the root off. Slice the leeks in half from top to bottom (length ways), wash under your cold tap to remove any dirt. Then cut the leeks width ways to sections about 4 centimeters long.
4. Putting the pie together - Get an oven proof lasagna dish. You will find the deeper it is the better (especially if you are the one who cleans the oven). I prefer a Pyrex one but an earthenware one will do. Use about half of your potatoes to arrange a layer at the bottom of your dish. Next put a layer of leeks - use all of the leeks. After that put a layer of cheese on top of the leeks. Use about three quarters of your cheese. Now use the rest of your potatoes to make another layer and top it off with the remaining cheese. Do not worry if it is bulging over the top of your dish as it settles down a lot during the cooking. Pour your milk into a jug, add a pinch of salt if you like and pour it over the Leek pie, drenching all the top layer of potatoes. Leave for about five minutes (have a cup of tea!)
5. Cooking your Leek Pie - Put your dish into a pre-heated oven at 200 C/.400 F/ Gas mark 6 for about 90 minutes. By this time the potatoes should be soft, the leeks tender and the cheese melted. Most of the milk will have been driven off to leave a moist but not "soupy" dish.
6. Serving - Cut into portions with a fish slice and serve sizzling hot.
To your enjoyment,
Leon Gruneberg
P.S. If you have any problems cooking it or any other comments please be my guest, feel more than free to post and I will try and help
P.P.S. My Gran (who is almost 92 and showing no signs of slowing down mentally or physically) has run an unofficial Leek Pie Second Line Support Help Desk for our family. If I can’t help she will definitely be able to!
I know this is not a curry, but as much as I love Kormas, Vindaloos, Madras and Biryani its nice to have a change sometimes. Don't you?
This is one of my family’s favorite dishes of all time and it has a very interesting history for us. It was first cooked by my Gran during WW2 so the recipe is almost an heirloom. Four generations of our family, as well as everyone who has come in by marriage, love this dish, so its got to be doing something right!
Try it! You will like it too because most people who have eaten it do! AND as a bonus its got no meat and can be made with vegetarian cheese. Do you know what that means? Yes, no more struggling to produce tasty dishes when veggie friends come over for dinner!
Just cook this up. It’s great with a simple salad; Lettuce, fresh organic spinach, sliced beefsteak tomatoes and crunchy cumber, tossed together moments before serving, drizzled with virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a twist of black pepper.Give your guests a portion of garlic bread wrapped in silver foil, straight out of the oven as well and you will have a dinner party to be reminisced about for some time...Guaranteed!
As for wine. Personally I’m tea total so not the right person to ask. However I’ve informed that a chilled Italian - A Chianti is fantastic when enjoying your leek pie outside in the Summer as the sun is setting in a red and amber sky. On cold winter evenings try a New World Red such as Murdoch James ‘Saleyards’ Syrah from New Zealand or a Chilean Almaviva.
By the way it’s not really a pie at all, its more like a hotpot!
LEEK PIE RECIPIE
INGREDIENTS
5 Large Baking Potatoes
500 grammes of Mature Cheddar Cheese
250 Grammes of Crumbly White Cheese (Cheshire, Wensleydale, or Caerphilly)
3 Leeks (tip: try and select leeks with lots of green on them, the trend today is to cut off the tops and leave you with the less tasty white part at the bottom)
500 milliliters of Milk
Pinch Of Salt
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prepare the Potatoes - Wash and thinly slice your potatoes and put to one side
2. Prepare the Cheese - Cut all your cheese up into cubes about 1.5 - 2 centimeters cubed, mix the two types of cheese together in a bowl and put it to one side
3. Prepare the Leeks - Cut the bottoms off your leeks, that is you slice the root off. Slice the leeks in half from top to bottom (length ways), wash under your cold tap to remove any dirt. Then cut the leeks width ways to sections about 4 centimeters long.
4. Putting the pie together - Get an oven proof lasagna dish. You will find the deeper it is the better (especially if you are the one who cleans the oven). I prefer a Pyrex one but an earthenware one will do. Use about half of your potatoes to arrange a layer at the bottom of your dish. Next put a layer of leeks - use all of the leeks. After that put a layer of cheese on top of the leeks. Use about three quarters of your cheese. Now use the rest of your potatoes to make another layer and top it off with the remaining cheese. Do not worry if it is bulging over the top of your dish as it settles down a lot during the cooking. Pour your milk into a jug, add a pinch of salt if you like and pour it over the Leek pie, drenching all the top layer of potatoes. Leave for about five minutes (have a cup of tea!)
5. Cooking your Leek Pie - Put your dish into a pre-heated oven at 200 C/.400 F/ Gas mark 6 for about 90 minutes. By this time the potatoes should be soft, the leeks tender and the cheese melted. Most of the milk will have been driven off to leave a moist but not "soupy" dish.
6. Serving - Cut into portions with a fish slice and serve sizzling hot.
To your enjoyment,
Leon Gruneberg
P.S. If you have any problems cooking it or any other comments please be my guest, feel more than free to post and I will try and help
P.P.S. My Gran (who is almost 92 and showing no signs of slowing down mentally or physically) has run an unofficial Leek Pie Second Line Support Help Desk for our family. If I can’t help she will definitely be able to!
# posted by Anonymouse @ 1:22 AM 
