Saturday, May 15, 2010

Leek and Potato (can't get enough of them) Penne with Parmesan and Sage Cooked in Brown Butter

On the advice of my friend Phil Webster from the UK I decided to add some texture to my Leek and Potato Soup.

So after sauteing the leeks, I removed a couple of large spoonfuls and set aside.

I, also, for a new depth of flavour cubed the potatoes, popped them in the microwave for about 4 minutes, drained tossed with some olive oil and salt and roasted them for about 15 minutes.
Reserve a couple of spoonfuls for the garnish and proceed with the soup as per my recipe
seen here
The potatoes for the garnish need to go into the oven for another 10 minutes just before serving to make sure that they are crisp.
It made an excellent first course for my friend Lana's dinner party last night.

She cooked us some beautiful salmon, with individual Dauphinoise Potatoes, roasted peppers, some rocket, all superbly presented. Then she made a pear tart. Excellent.

So there was some soup and garnish left over.
Lunch today
Leek and Potato Penne, Topped with Parmesan and Sage cooked in Brown Butter
Next time I will use more sage. Usually you use it sparingly, but in this case there was not enough, so go for it and use heaps.

I reheated the leftover soup added the potato cubes and leeks
Picked some fresh Sage leaves
Heated a good knob of butter to the nutty stage
Added the Sage
Cooked about 1 minutes
Drain
Chop.

Place pasta in bowl, top with Parmesan, Cooked Sage
A good grind of freshly ground black pepper.

Lunch for a king... and he liked it too

Now even though I say so myself I make a good pie.
Keeping on with the Leek and Roasted Potatoes Theme
An excellent filling for a pie.
Make more than you need and stick them in the freezer for later consumption
Cook the pies for the freezer for about 5 minutes less time.
They will need to be reheated and you don't want them to dry out.
You might notice, I use quite a bit of butter and oil, as this too keeps them moist. After all you are not going to be eating them every day. So go for the lipid of choice.

You need
Puff Pastry
1 leek cleaned and sliced
Butter 25 gms
Grated cheese
1 med potato peeled and cubed
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Eggs

1 egg beaten with a few drops of water for egg wash

First prepare the filling
Saute the sliced leeks gently in butter
Season with salt and pepper
Toss the potatoes in Olive oil and salt
Roast till tender and golden
Drain

While they are all cooling roll out your pastry
Cut bottoms and lids to fill your pie tin
Put to rest in fridge about 15 minutes
Set oven to 205C
Grease your tins
Place bottom layer in
Prick with a fork
Add grated cheese to cover bottom
Add leeks
Potatoes
Break an large egg into a cup
Just lightly break the yolk and disperse amongst the white, don't beat
Add Salt and pepper
Tip into pie case and top with more grated cheese
Place lid on top. crimp edges
Brush with egg wash

Cook about 25 minutes
Remove and don't burn your mouth as you will want to get into these as soon as they are cooked.
The aroma is magnificent.

No comments:

Post a Comment