Leek Tarte Tatin

This Summer I did a bit of guerrilla gardening, I invaded a small patch of un-loved land and grew some leeks, sunflowers and chillies. I named this patch 'The Farm', which was a huge exaggeration of it's size, but from The Farm I was able grow produce far fresher than anything I could buy in a supermarket and I didn't have to wait in a que to pay for it.

This morning the only crop that remained were the leeks (and a lot of unwelcome weeds), they looked lonely and like me seemed to be wondering how summer had been and gone so quickly. As they are the last of this year's harvest I wanted to make something with my precious leeks that celebrated them in all their glory. After all, I'll have to wait until March, or maybe even April before my garden starts producing edible treats again, hopefully in the form on rhubarb.

So I devised this leek tarte tatin. There are a lot of things to like about this recipe: It's quick, it's sweet from the caramelised leeks, it's tangy from the wensleydale cheese and it's pretty because of the tight little circles of golden leek.

I would love to tell you that my leeks are gigantic specimens, but they're not, frankly they're a bit pathetic, so adjust the quantity of leeks according to the patheticness of your leeks.

Recipe

This makes one tart, large enough for 2 people to share as a main, but you could make individual tarts or double the recipe and make a family sized tart.

3 small leeks, washed and cut into half inch chunks

1 fat clove of garlic chopped

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and chopped

2 table spoons of dry white wine

100g wensleydale cheese (or any crumbly cheese you love)

half a pack of ready rolled puff pastry

a small knob of butter

olive oil

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6.
• In a small medium sized oven-proof frying pan heat your oil over a moderate heat then add the butter and melt. Fry the garlic and thyme for 1 minute, until they start to colour slightly, now tip them out onto a plate and set aside.
• Squeeze all your leek chunks into the pan, facing the sky all huddled up together. Let them cook for a couple of minutes then add the white wine and let it bubble away for a few minutes (drink a glass of wine whilst it does this).
• When the pan starts to look dry again sprinkle your garlic, thyme and some seasoning over the top, then place the pastry over the whole pan and trim the edges with a knife. Tuck the pastry in to the pan so that the leeks are nice and snug. Prick with a fork and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry in golden.
• Take a deep breath, steady yourself and hold a plate over the pastry and in one smooth confident movement (you can do it), flip it over. Ta Da, leek tarte tatin. Sprinkle it with the wensleydale and serve immediately with some watercress and some potatoes if your are hungry.