Leek flan with Caerphilly cheese sauce.

Yes, it’s St David’s Day so we’ve been searching around for some recipes with a Welsh touch. This is one that we particularly like as a starter for a meal or, if you eat two, it makes for a decent lunch too. 

50g Caerphilly cheese, grated

1 leek (not too big and cleaned too)

100 ml Dry white wine

100 ml vegetable stock/ 

1 large egg

Salt

Parsley 

100 ml milk

30g unsalted butter

30g plain flour

100 g single cream

50g Caerphilly cheese, grated

10g Parmesan grated

Black pepper, freshly ground.

Clean the leek and take off the outer skin. Cut into fine rounds and sweat in a pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. To stop the leeks burning, first add 100 ml of dry white wine and once that has virtually evaporated, 100 ml vegetable stock. When the leeks are soft and the liquid has more or less gone, put the leeks in a food processor. Next make a Bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and a touch of milk. Gradually add the rest of the milk and when it has thickened, add the cheese. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add this to the leeks in the food processor, with a beaten egg. 

When fully incorporated, transfer the mixture to four buttered molds and cook in a bain marie in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes at 160 degrees C. 

Prepare the cheese sauce to accompany the leek tarts by heating the cream in a saucepan with a knob of butter and the grated cheeses and pepper. 

Turn out the flans from the mold and pour over the cheese sauce.