Potato Leek And Cheese Pie Food

LEEK, CHEESE & POTATO PIE

Steps:

• To make the pastry, sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add 1 tsp sea salt. Coarsely grate in the cold butter, then use your fingertips to work into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour over the vodka and use a butter knife to mix it in, then pour over 2 tbsp cold water and stir again with the knife. If you need to, add a little more water until it comes together as a dough, about 1-2 tbsp. Lightly knead the pastry to a smooth dough in the bowl, dust lightly with flour and wrap in baking parchment. Rest for at least 30 mins.
• Peel and cut the potatoes into 5mm- thick slices and put them in a lidded saucepan. Cover with cold water, add a generous pinch of salt, bring to the boil with the lid on, then lower to a simmer and cook for 8-10 mins until just tender. Drain and leave to steam-dry.
• In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil, bay leaf and butter together over a medium heat, then add the leek and onion. Season well and add a good grating of nutmeg. Cook, stirring, for 8-10 mins, until softened. Add about 100ml water, and cook until most of it has evaporated. Discard the bay leaf and stir in both the mustards and parmesan. Set aside to cool. Butter and flour a 20cm round pie dish.
• Roll ¾ of the pastry out on a lightly floured surface in a circle larger than the pie dish, then line the dish. Roll the rest into a large circle for the lid and chill both for 10 mins. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Spoon a layer of the leek mixture into the lined dish, grate over some cheddar and top with a layer of potatoes and the melting cheese slices. Repeat the layering until you have filled the pie dish - press down to compact it.
• Brush some of the egg around the edges, top with the pastry lid and crimp together. Egg wash the lid, scatter over some sea salt and cut two slits in the lid. Bake for 45-50 mins until golden.
• Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 mins, then slice and serve with a watercress salad, if you like.

CHEESY LEEK & POTATO PIE

Steps:

• Put the leeks, butter and herbs in a pan, cover and cook over a low heat for about 20 mins until very soft, stirring occasionally. While the leeks are cooking, put the potatoes in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 mins until just cooked. Drain the potatoes and stir into the cooked leeks. Leave to cool, stir in the cheese and season with plenty of pepper and salt if you want. The filling can now be chilled for use the following day, if you like.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Divide the pastry in two and roll one of the pieces to the size of a dinner plate. Transfer this to a baking sheet and roll the remaining pastry and any trimmings to a round about 5cm bigger than the first. Pile the filling into the middle of the round on the baking sheet, leaving a 4cm border. Brush the border with the beaten egg, then drape over the larger piece of pastry. Trim the edges to neaten, then press the sides together with your thumb. Brush the tart all over with egg. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden. Leave to rest for 10 mins before cutting into wedges and serving with beans or greens.

POTATO, LEEK AND CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• You will need a 25cm (10in) round pie dish. Leave the butter and lard for the pastry in the freezer for 1 hour. To make the pie filling, melt the butter in a wide-based saucepan or deep frying pan, add the leeks and onion and fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Cover with a lid, then lower the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender but not browned. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water in a separate pan for 8-10 minutes until just tender. Drain well. Heat the milk in a separate pan until just coming to the boil and remove from the heat. Remove the lid from the pan with the leeks and onion, turn up the heat to drive off any excess liquid, then sprinkle in the flour. Stir in and cook for 1 minute, then gradually blend in the hot milk and bring to the boil, stirring. Leave to bubble for about 5 minutes until thickened, then add the mustard, thyme and the two cheeses and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cooked potatoes to the sauce and stir in. Pour the filling into the pie dish and sit a pie funnel (or an upturned eggcup) in the middle of the dish to support the pastry. Cover and set aside until the filling is stone cold (see tip). To make the pastry, measure the flour into a large bowl. Take the butter and lard straight from the freezer and coarsely grate into the flour (see tip). Add 150ml (5fl oz) of water and stir together to combine into a firm dough. Sprinkle a work surface with flour, add the dough and knead until smooth. Roll into a rectangle about 20 x 50cm (8 x 20in), then fold up the bottom third of the pastry to the middle and fold the top third down over it, creating three layers. Turn the pastry through 90 degrees, roll again and fold, then turn and fold twice again to give 12 layers in total. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7. Roll the pastry on a floured work surface until about as thick as a £1 coin and cut out a disc 3cm (1¼in) bigger than the pie dish. Cut a long thin strip about 1cm (½in) wide to fit around the top of the dish. Wet the lip of the dish, lay the thin strip of pastry on top and press down (see tip). Wet the top of the pastry lip and lay the pastry disc on top, pressing down and crimping the edge. Re-roll the pastry trimmings and cut out leaf shapes for decoration (see tip). Brush the top with some of the beaten egg and arrange the leaves on top. Make a little hole in the centre. Brush the top of the pie with more beaten egg and sit it on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until crisp and golden on top and the filling is piping hot. Serve with a green vegetable. Cook time: 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes, plus chilling Prepare ahead: The base can be made and left in the pie dish up to a day ahead. Top with the pastry up to 6 hours before cooking. The pastry can be prepared ahead and chilled in the fridge overnight. Freeze: Both the pastry and the pie freeze well uncooked. Mary's Everyday Tips: Wrap the butter and lard blocks in kitchen paper and use this to hold the fat while grating. The filling needs to cool down completely as any residual heat will start melting the pastry and cause it to sink when baking in the oven. Adding a strip of pastry to the edge of the pie dish helps raise the pastry a little and prevents it from going soggy during cooking. Don't re-knead the trimmings - lay them on top of each other and then roll, as this keeps the layers in the pastry intact.

CHEESE, ONION, LEEK & POTATO PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced (200°C normal)/350°-375°F/4-5 gas mark.
• Heat a little oil in a heavy-based - preferably non-stick - pan and gently sauté the onions, spring onions and leek until softish, stirring now and again; remove the pan from the heat; add the minced garlic and thyme to the pan and mix to combine the ingredients.
• Combine all the tasty cheese with the crème fraiche or sour cream.
• Place several layers of potato in the base of a well-greased round oven dish and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; top with half of the sautéed onions, leek and garlic; add several dollops of the cheese mixture (there is no need to spread this out as the cheeses will spread out as the pie starts to cook and the cheeses melt); repeat these steps, ending with the cheese layer.
• Cut a round of pastry to cover and slightly overlap the dish in which the pie is to be cooked.
• Beat together the egg and milk; brush the outside edges of the dish just below the rim with the egg wash and place the pastry round on top of the pie, overhanging the edge of the dish; press down the sides of the pastry onto the sides of the dish and brush the top of the pie and the overlapping edges of the pastry with the egg wash.
• Cook the pie in the lower part of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
• Serve the pie with a salad greens.

FRENCH LEEK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in leeks; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and cheese, and warm through. Pour mixture into pie shell
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until custard is set and golden on top. Allow to sit 10 minutes before cutting pie into wedges.

POTATO PIE WITH LEEKS AND FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• First wash, and cook potatoes with their skin. Peel, and mash one immediately, and let the rest (for the filling) cool down.
• Preheat oven to 390°F
• In a bowl with mashed potato, add margarine, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and knead with hands to get a smooth dough. Add half of chopped up leek, knead it in, then transfer the dough to a medium sized spring form pan, spread it around to cover pan bottom with it.
• Peel and slice the remaining potatoes, or chop them up, and place them on top of the dough, along with half of chopped up leek. Sprinkle with 1/4 t sea salt and pepper.
• Mix eggs with sour cream, add a pinch of salt, and feta cheese. Pour this over the potatoes, and place the pie in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, depending on the oven.
• Cool a little, then remove the spring form, and serve. Best if eaten right away, as most potato dishes.

LEEK AND POTATO PIE

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes and slice thinly.
• Wash the leeks thoroughly and slice thinly discarding about the last 2 inches of the green tops.
• Mix together the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Grease a casserole dish.
• Put in alternate layers of potatoes and leeks sprinkling each layer with the seasoned flour and small chips of butter.
• The top layer should be potatoes.
• Dot the top with butter, pour hot milk on top of the casserole.
• Bake in the oven uncovered (gas 5, 375°F, 190°C.) for about 1 hour.

CHEESY LEEK AND POTATO BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 220°C.
• Boil potatoes. Cut leeks into 1 cm slices. Melt 1/2 of the butter in a pan and cook leeks for about 10 minutes.
• Drain and mash potatoes with the other 1/2 of butter, the egg and 3/4 of the cheese.
• Season to taste, stir in the leeks and turn into a large ovenproof dish.
• Top with remaining cheese and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden. Will take longer if you have prepared the dish in advance.

SWEET POTATO, CHEESE AND LEEK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F
• Mix the oil, garlic and crème fraîche together in a large bowl.
• Add the sweet potato slices and toss until coated.
• Lightly grease a gratin dish.
• Layer in sweet potato mixture and leeks ending with potato on the top.
• Top with cheese and breadcrumbs or just the cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, removing foil for the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.