Poireaux Au Gratin And A Risotto: Chefs Share The Best Meal To Make With Leeks

Expert comment provided by Stuart Gillies, chef-owner for Number Eight, Sevenoaks and Bank House, Chislehurst, and Zoe Gill, development chef at Brakes Foodservices.

The other day, while I was eating okonimiyaki, I thought, “This is probably the best meal you can make with a head of cabbage”.

Which made me wonder – what about other ingredients? 

So, this week, we asked chefs Stuart Gillies, chef-owner for Number Eight, Sevenoaks and Bank House, Chislehurst, and Zoe Gill, development chef at Brakes Foodservices, for the best meal they can think of with this week’s pick: leeks.

Stuart Gillies: A classic poireaux au gratin 

Leeks are in season this month, so to enjoy them at the peak of their flavour, Gillies doesn’t mess around too much with the ingredient. 

″’At home we love a  French family classic; poached leeks, wrapped in thin smoked cooked ham slices, laid in a gratin dish and topped with cheese sauce, grated cheddar and baked in the oven,” he explained.

Sometimes called poireaux au gratin, the recipe is a favourite of chef Anthony Bar, too.

As Gillies explained, it’s “Super easy for anyone to make and incredibly satisfying.” 

Zoe Gill: A spring veggie-packed leek risotto

“Leeks are a brilliant ingredient for a risotto because they can melt easily into the arborio rice, offering a delicate, subtle flavour that doesn’t overpower the dish,” the chef told HuffPost UK. 

Those who’ve tried the combination seem to agree: a BBC Good Food recipe has earned nothing but five-star reviews.

And because it complements “the likes of peas, asparagus, as well as courgette, red pepper and aubergine,” the cook loveds to make it in a “Mediterranean-vegetable risotto, topped with a light fish, such as monkfish.” 

She added, “The meaty texture holds up against the creaminess of rice and offers a great source of protein”.