Recipe and photography by Ed Burrows.
Ingredients
- 2 leeks, cut into 1cm rounds
- 1 lemon, zest only
- Sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 25g of salted butter
- 25g of plain flour
- 240ml of whole milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
- 100g of Talleggio, cut into small pieces
- 150g of Northern Pasta Co Fusilli
- Small bunch of chives, finely sliced
Method
- Start by preheating the oven to 180fan. Arrange the sliced leeks onto a baking tray and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, grate over the zest of the lemon and a few gratings of nutmeg. Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes until softened and golden.
- Meanwhile, place a large pan of well salted water on to boil for the pasta.
- Add the butter to small sauce pan and leave to melt. Add the flour then whisk together to form a roux.
Cook the flour out for 3 minutes or so until it goes slightly golden in colour and you get a biscuity smell. Then pour in the milk in small increments, whisking well between each one to ensure no lumps. Once all the milk is incorporated add the bay lead and mustard. Season well with salt and and pepper and add half the Talleggio. Stir and cook for a minute or two until thickens to a nice thick double cream consistency. Turn off and leave to one side.
- Add the fusilli to the boiling water and cook until just under al-dente.
- Remove the leeks from the oven after 20 minutes and add into the béchamel and stir together. Turn the heat up to 220C.
- Drain the fusilli once al-dente and add back into the pan. Pour the bechamel and leek mixture into the pasta and stir together. Pour into a baking dish then add the remaining pieces of Talleggio over the top of the pasta and place under the hot grill. Cook for roughly 5 minutes until bubbling and golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and finish with the freshly chopped chives over the top before serving.
