Porri al Montasio by Country House Montali
The sweetness of leeks combines well with the sour taste of Montasio cheese. Serves 4
Ingredients:
675 g leeks, white and yellow parts only
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
450 ml milk
150 g Montasio or Cheddar cheese, cut into 1 cm
cubes
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
Clean the leeks and cut each into three equal pieces. Halve each cylinder crosswise on a bias.
Cook in lightly salted boiling water for three minutes and set aside. In a separate saucepan, melt
the butter and add the flour. Stir until the roux is golden brown and add a quarter of the milk,
stirring until smooth. Add the remaining milk and cook until thickened, approximately 3 minutes.
Stir two thirds of the cheese into the sauce until melted. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Butter the bottom of a 20 x 20 cm ceramic plate. Stand the leeks bias-side up and drizzle
with the sauce. Top with the remaining cheese and bake at Gas Mark 4/180oC for 10 minutes or
until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Serve hot.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster
