It’s St David’s Day today so it seems appropriate to write a post incorporating leeks, especially since I was very kindly offered some magnificent examples the other morning growing bravely through the snow. The person responsible, a neighbour of mine, gave me his technique to go with them. They were a real treat.

This is a dish which has a bit of visual impact, thanks partly to cutting the leeks into 1”/2 cm high pieces and placing shoulder to shoulder in a shallow flat baking dish or a quiche dish, and partly to the decorative properties of the whole grain mustard.

It’s also warming, comfort food but with a bit of ‘pop’.

Recipe for Chad’s comfort food leeks and mustard

Serves 6

Ingredients

• About twelve leeks
• 4 tbsps of wholegrain mustard
• 360ml/1½ cups chicken stock made with two stock cubes
• 60 ml/¼ cup dry white vermouth
• 10 grinds of nutmeg (having trouble with your nutmeg grater? Go here)
• Two or three bay leaves
• 240ml/1 cup crème fraîche
• 10 grinds Indonesian long black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210°C.
2. Cut the leeks and place as described above, add all the other ingredients except the crème fraîche.
3. Put in the oven for five to ten minutes to get the liquid boiling.
4. Lower the temperature of the oven to 180°C and bake for about half an hour until the leeks are soft and ready to eat with caramelised tops.
5. Take out of the oven and spoon over the crème fraîche.
6. Serve.

This post is dedicated to Chad McGregor.

Music to cook to

Cambrian Serenade, Arwel Hughes