British Leeks: Great Recipe for Colder Months
When I buy leeks in the supermarket, I usually cook potato and leek soup. However, this winter I am challenging myself in trying different recipes with vegetables to expand my cooking range.
On the 1st of March, United Kingdom celebrates St David’ s Day. St David is a patron Saint of Wales and two national emblems are daffodils and leeks. To mark this day, let’s try and cook something which would keep us warm in chilly March weather.
I am going to cook Lamb Rump with Root Vegetable Mash and Cheesy Leeks from British Leeks website. The recipe is not complicated and the dish is great combination of cheesy, sweet and meaty flavours.
Firstly, I cooked the mash, for which you will need
1 x small swede
1 x carrot
1 sweet potato
½ tsp salt
I cleaned all vegetables, cut them in cubes and boiled in water for 25 minutes until tender. When I mashed the vegetables and added some butter for an extra smoothness.
Next step is to prepare the leeks and for this you will need:
1tsp butter
½ tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1 x leek
100g of cheese
200ml milk
½ tsp Dijon mustard
I sweated leeks in a pan with butter and oil for about 10 minutes, then I added flour and poured milk into a pan. Lastly, I added grated cheese and a touch of mustard. The leeks turned into a tasty, creamy paste with mustard giving a flavourful kick to the whole dish.
Before you start cooking the lamb, I recommend that you prepare the herb crust, so it is ready to go once your lamb is nicely browned on the pan. For the crust you will need:
2 slices of sourdough bread
Small bunch of parsley
1 garlic clove
1 tsp lemon zest
Small bunch of mint
2 tbsps olive oil
You will need to whizz sourdough in a blender until crumbed, grate in zest of lemon, garlic, chopped parsley and mint and add 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Once your herb crust is ready, brown the lamb on the pan, so that the fat becomes slightly crispy. Be careful not to burn the meat at this point. Once done, place your lamb pieces on the tray, spread some mustard on top of them and then follow on with the her crust. This will go in the oven for 12-15 minutes to fully cook and become crispy on the outside.
The end result was moreish and soul-warming dish. Creamy, savoury leeks were a great accompaniment to sweet vegetables mash. Lamb was meaty, full of flavour and the crust gave us a crispy taste sensation with a slight zing from mint and lemon.
If you want to try more recipes with leeks, please head to the British Leeks website and happy cooking! Do let me know what you managed to create!
