A great tasting pie is hard to beat. This recipe for Ham and Leek pie combines our rich, tender gammon hock with leeks in a creamy cheese sauce, all wrapped up in buttery pastry. Serve with mashed potato for serious comfort food.
Cheesy Ham & Leek Pie Ingredients:
About 250g cooked gammon hock (get the recipe here)
3 fat leeks (If you can’t find leeks, a sweet or mild onion works just as well)
40g butter, plus more for frying
40g plain flour, plus more for rolling the pastry
280ml milk
Some nice mature cheddar
Black pepper and salt
500g puff pastry
1 egg, for egg wash
Makes 4 individual pies
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Chop the leeks and rinse, then fry gently in a generous scoop of butter until they’re nice and soft. Sprinkle with a little salt and then remove from the heat.
Step 2
Make the white sauce. Melt 40g of butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and then add the flour and whisk to form a thick paste. Heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, then add the milk and whisk again until you have a nice smooth sauce. Keep whisking for a few more minutes, so that it thickens up a little.
Step 3
Remove the white sauce from the heat and grate a double handful of good strong cheddar into it, stirring to melt it through. Then season generously with black pepper. Stir the leeks through the sauce and set aside to cool a little.
Step 4
Sprinkle a clean surface with flour. Divide the puff pastry into four and roll out to no more than 3mm thick. Butter your ramekins and line with pastry, trimming it off roughly so there’s about 2cm of overhang.
Step 5
Divide the filling between the prepared ramekins, and then use the remaining pastry (you may have to squish up the trimmings and roll them up again) to put the lid on the pies. Roll the edges over roughly to seal them – a bit of a rustic look is fine. Poke a hole in the top of each one to let the steam out. Beat the egg and brush over the top of each pie, then bake for 40 minutes.
Step 6
Serve with mashed potato and your favourite green vegetables.
