From now until early spring, leeks will have a permanent presence in this kitchen, fat green and white alliums to blend with potatoes for soup or simmered in chicken and barley stews. They will be mashed into purées for pasta and fried for filling a baked potato. Cooked slowly and softened without colour, they will fill open-faced tarts of goat’s cheese or bacon.
The first fat leeks of the year went into a pie this week, cooked until silky, their flesh seasoned with grated parmesan, then wrapped in pastry and baked. Another time, I might be tempted to add chopped leaves of tarragon or a smattering of blue cheese, a spoonful of mustard or a dusting of smoked paprika. On this occasion, it was simply leeks and cheese, a partnership that ticks every box for me.
I also baked a batch of soft, nutty cookies, their surface nubbly with salted peanuts. Biscuits so tender you could crumble them over a bowl of stewed apples or a glass dish of ice-cream. Topped with roasted peanuts, I even sprinkled a few with extra flakes of sea salt – buttery, nutty, salty little treats to pass around on an autumn afternoon.
Leek and parmesan pie
You can make this in a large springform cake tin or bake freeform on a baking sheet. I take the middle route, baking the pie freeform, but using the outer ring of a 23cm cake tin to hold the pastry in shape. The ring isn’t essential, but it does stop the pastry splitting as it bakes. The flavour of leeks is less strident if you cook them without colour, placing a piece of greaseproof paper over the surface of the sliced leeks as well as a lid, so they partly sauté, partly steam. This is a good recipe for using up small, hard ends of parmesan. Serves 6-8
For the pastry:
butter 180g, fridge cold
plain flour 300g
egg yolk 1
egg 1, lightly beaten for brushing
water about 50ml
For the leeks:
leeks 1kg
butter 60g
plain flour 3 heaped tbsp
crème fraîche 100g
parmesan 80g, grated
Make the pastry: cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the flour with your thumbs and fingertips or use a food processor. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, add the yolk and enough water to bring it to a rollable dough. Using lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a ball and refrigerate for half an hour or so.
Remove and discard the roots and very darkest green tips of the leeks. Slice the leeks thickly (1-2cm), then wash thoroughly in cold water to remove any grit that can get trapped between the layers. Put them in a colander and shake dry. Melt the butter in a large pan with a heavy base. Put the leeks into the pan, cover with a disc of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, push it down to cover the surface, then cover with a lid and let them cook – a cross between sautéeing and steaming – for about 25 minutes, lifting the paper and stirring once or twice, until they are soft, but not coloured at all. Season with black pepper and a little salt.
Sprinkle the flour over, stir, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche and grated parmesan, then set aside. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6 and place an empty baking sheet in the oven.
Line another baking sheet with baking parchment.
Lightly oil a 23cm cake tin, place it on the lined baking sheet, then place the pastry over it, pushing it gently down into the corners and leaving the overhanging pastry in place. If you are taking the freeform route simply lay the pastry on the lined baking sheet.
Fill the middle of the pastry with the leek and cheese mixture. Now fold the edges of overhanging pastry over the filling, leaving the middle free of pastry. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg. Place this baking sheet on top of the hot baking sheet already in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes until the pastry is golden. If the leeks are colouring too much, then place a piece of foil loosely over the surface. Remove from the oven and leave to settle for about 10 minutes. If you used a cake tin, run a palette knife around the edge to release the pie, then cut into thick slices and serve.
Peanut butter cookies
The only ingredients you need to make great peanut butter are peanuts and salt, so check the label for intruders like palm oil and sugar. The flavour of these small, soft-textured cookies is even better if you opt for the darker roast peanut butter.
Makes roughly 38-40 little cookies
butter 225g
caster sugar 100g
soft brown sugar 100g
egg 1
plain flour 150g
baking powder 1 tsp
peanut butter 200g
roasted, salted peanuts to decorate
Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Cut the butter into small pieces and put them in the bowl of a food processor with the sugars. Beat until soft and fluffy. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork, just enough to mix the yolks and white together, then add little by little to the butter and sugar. (I do this in 3 or 4 stages, so the mixture doesn’t curdle. If it does, stir in a spoonful of the flour.)
Sieve together the flour and baking powder, then add to the mix and continue until the flour has been incorporated. Stir in the peanut butter. Set the oven at 170C/gas mark 3-4. Place level heaped tbsps of the mixture on to a baking sheet, lined with greaseproof paper, leaving plenty of room around each to allow the biscuits to spread. With the back of a floured dessert spoon press lightly on each one to flatten the top. Roughly chop the salted, roasted peanuts, then sprinkle 2g (about 1 tsp) on each biscuit.
Bake for about 12 minutes until the biscuits have spread and turned pale gold. They should still be soft to the touch. While the biscuits are baking, prepare a second tray and repeat until the mixture is all used (I do about 4 batches). Let the cookies firm up a little before transferring carefully to a cooling rack.
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