Ham and Leek Mornay

Cook 25 min

Ingredients

  • 1½ lb / 700 g leeks, trimmed, washed and chopped
  • 1½ lb / 700 g cooked meat from hock, trimmed and cubed
  • 1½ oz / 40 g margarine
  • 3 tbsp / 45 ml plain flour
  • ¾ pint / 450 ml milk
  • 6 oz / 175 g Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 tsp / 10 ml wholegrain mustard
  • 5 fl oz / 150 ml natural yogurt
  •   salt and pepper
  •   fresh parsley sprig, to garnish

Method

  1. Put the leeks in a pan of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain well. Put the ham and leeks into an ovenproof serving dish.
  2. Melt margarine in a pan and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually pour on milk, stirring constantly until blended. Return to heat and stir until thickened.
  3. Stir in 4 oz / 125 g of the cheese, mustard and natural yogurt, then pour over the ham and leeks. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and bake at Gas Mark 6 / 400°F / 200°C for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  4. Serve immediately, garnished with a parsley sprig.

Notes

To save time, a quick way of making a white sauce is to put milk, flour and fat all together in a pan. Heat and whisk with a balloon whisk until sauce has thickened. This creates beautiful lump-free sauces in seconds. If a traditional sauce becomes lumpy, whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth.