Leeks with mustards and cheese

Pets'R'us's Note:

Leeks with cheese is a traditional dish in the Netherlands, the two mustards add a nice tang to this dish. If you are not a big mustard fan, start with using 1/2 tablespoons of the mustard.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 lbs baby leeks, trimmed and washed and cut in half
• salt and pepper
• 2 ounces butter
• 3 ounces plain flour
• 425 ml milk
• 6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon coarse grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• freshly grated nutmeg

For the topping

• 2 -3 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 ounce grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the leeks in a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes until just tender.
3. Drain and put under cold water immediately to refresh and stop the cooking process.
4. Place the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan and slowly bring up to the boil whisking all the time.
5. Once it is up to the boil, reduce the heat and let it just simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Add the grated cheddar and parmesan, then the mustards.
7. Season with salt and pepper and the nutmeg.
8. Put the leeks into a shallow serving dish and pour over the sauce.
9. Mix the breadcrumbs and the cheese together and sprinkle over the top of the leeks.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Reviews

[JustJanS]

I think Bergy said it all for me in her review. These were great leeks. I didn't use the cheddar cheese (when I discovered I didn't have any!) but I used a very sharp and quite fresh textured buffalo cheese. It's supposed to be a good melting cheese, and worked really well in this dish.

[Bergy]

I love to find good recipes for leeks - they are such an underated veggie. This is an excellent recipe the only thing I changed I cut back a bit on the cheese and used Danbo - a Danish Low Fat Cheese that is excellent for cooked very flavorful The blend of the mustards & cheeses complimented the leeks and the bit of crumb on top finishes the dish - I cut the recipe in half with no problen. Thanks Annelies I love your recipes

[Caromcg]

Prepared this as a make-ahead side for Thanksgiving. So different from the usual; everyone LOVED it!
I TRIPLED the recipe for twelve medium/large leeks. Prepared everything the day before and put in a 9x13 ceramic baker - lasagne-depth, but there was way too much sauce (I saved 1.5-2 cups and figure I'll make braised endive or etc later in the week). In the fridge over night. Since the casserole started cool, I baked it at 350 for an hour - mostly because that was the temp needed for the cornbread. It also allowed us to leave the turkey "rest."