Layered Leek
bake
Layered Leek
& Potato Pie
recipe by
claire wood // carÈme pastry
Sweet layers of leek, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes, thyme, cream and Gruyere cheese are all wrapped up in a big, warm, nutty, spelt puff pastry cuddle. It’ the perfect weeknight dinner your family will love so much, they’ll beg you for another slice.
Ingredients
- 1 x (375g packet) Carême Spelt Puff Pastry, defrosted
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 500g fresh leeks (white and pale green portions only) thinly sliced
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons Creme fraiche
- 600g Sebago potatoes
- 175g Gruyere cheese, grated
- 50ml thickened cream, warmed
Equipment
- Large chef’s pan
- 22cm fluted metal pie tin
- Mandolin
- Paring knife
Notes
- We recommend cooking your pie in an oven with a pizza stone to ensure the base of the pastry cooks. If you do not have a pizza stone (which you can purchase cheaply from a kitchen supply store, or Bunnings) then we recommend blind baking your pastry prior to adding the filling.
- You can warm your cream in a microwave in short 15 sec bursts.
Method
- Heat the butter in a frypan over low heat until melted. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are very soft, but not browned (about 10 mins). If the pan becomes dry, add a little water and partially cover to complete the cooking. 2 mins before they are ready, add the fresh thyme leaves. Remove from heat, season well with salt and pepper and set aside to cool completely. Once the leek mixture is completely cooled, add the creme fraiche and stir until it evenly coats the leek mixture.
- Unroll the pastry and use a 26cm round plate and a template to cut a circle. Line a deep 22cm fluted metal pie tin with the pastry circle, gently pushing the pastry into base and sides of tin. Trim the edges and chill for 20 minutes.
- Place your oven baking rack in the lowest position of the oven and while the oven is still cold place a pizza stone on top (see notes). Preheat oven to 230°C (210°C fan-forced) with bottom heat (ensure you always heat your pizza stone up in a cold oven – it will crack if you place it in after it is heated).
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into fine slices as thin as possible (we use a mandolin on the thinnest setting with the best result for the least effort). As you cut them, place in a large bowl of cold water. Once all the potatoes are peeled and sliced, drain them and dry them well using paper towel or clean kitchen towels.
- Add a layer of potato (slightly overlapping at the edges) on top of the pastry in the pie tin and top with a layer of the leek mixture. Sprinkle a handful of gruyere cheese over the top and repeat with another layer of potato, then leek, then cheese. Continue repeating until you reach the top of the pie tin finishing with a layer of potato and leek reserving 1/3 cup of grated gruyere for later.
- Place at the bottom of your oven and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn oven temperature down to 180°C. Remove pie from oven and use a small paring knife to cut a number of slits down through the layers of potato. pour the warmed thickened cream over the top and into the slits allowing it to distribute through the layers of the pie. Top the pie with gruyere cheese and cook for a further 25 minutes until a knife slides through the layers of potato easily. If the top starts to brown too much, cover with tented foil for the remaining cooking time.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes and allow the potatoes to set. Remove from the baking tin and serve with a side salad.
