Cheesy leek and butter bean pies

Servings: 6 individual pies

Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

olive oil

3 leeks cleaned & sliced into rounds

100 g unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp English mustard powder

85 g plain flour

750 ml milk

125 g cheddar cheese grated

400 g jar butter beans drained & rinsed

salt & freshly ground black pepper

3 x 500g blocks ready-made puff pastry

1 egg beaten

to serve: mash, gravy, greens

METHOD

Heat a good glug of olive oil in large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the rounds of leek and a good pinch of salt and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until lightly caramelised. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the garlic and mustard powder, whisk well and cook for a minute or so, until the garlic has softened slightly. Add the flour and continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes, to form a paste. Pour a little milk into the pan and whisk energetically until completely smooth. Then repeat this step, adding small amounts of milk and whisking until smooth, until you have a silky, creamy sauce.

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes, until thick and glossy. Stir the grated cheddar, softened leeks and butter beans through the sauce, then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

When you are ready to bake your pies, preheat the oven to 180°c (fan assisted)/390°f/gas 6.

Roll 2/3 of the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a 3-4mm thickness. Cut out 6 circles large enough to each line a 13cm pie dish, then line each pie dish with the pastry, pushing it into the sides and letting it stand a little above the rim. Spoon three large tablespoons of the filling into each pie case, so that it sits just below the rim (you may find you have a small amount of leftover filling depending on the size of your leeks – not a bad thing! Either make another pie or two with any leftover pastry you have, or eat it as a side dish at another dinner). Roll out the remaining pastry to a 3-4mm thickness and cut out 6 circles the size of your pie dishes. Brush the edges of the pastry bases with egg wash, then lay the rounds of pastry on top, crimping the edges together at the side. Prick the top a few times with a knife, then glaze with beaten egg.

Put the pies on a baking tray and glaze again with egg wash. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until deeply golden and crisp. Serve with all the trimmings – mash, gravy and greens.

Recipe credit: Georgie Eats

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Beth Williams
Senior Digital Executive

Beth is our Senior Digital Executive and can be credited with how everything at HLN ‘looks’ – from the website to our social media and twice-weekly emails. She’s also the super organised one in the team and keeps us all on-track. A born and bred scouser, Beth moved to Newcastle…

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