This is such a decadent dish combining some of my favourite things – perfect on its own or alongside slow-roasted lamb.
Serves: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced into 1cm rounds
1 small cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
½ cup white wine
¼ cup cream
500 grams potato gnocchi
120 grams stale ciabatta or sourdough
a few sprigs of fresh thyme to garnish
sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 ½ cups milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a good grating of fresh nutmeg
150 grams gruyere cheese, grated (divided into two lots)
METHOD
Heat the first lot of butter in a large, heavy based pot, add the leeks and cauliflower and season well with salt and pepper.
Cook, covered for 15 minutes. Add the wine and cream and cook a further 8 minutes, uncovered. For the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat.
Add the flour, whisk to a paste and add half the milk, continuing to whisk. Add the remaining milk and the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
Continue to whisk over the heat until the sauce is thick and smooth. Stir through half of the gruyere until smooth, then add to the cauliflower and leeks and stir to combine. Whiz the bread in a food processor with the remaining grated cheese. Preheat the oven to 200˚C and cook the potato gnocchi in boiling water according to the packet instructions.
Add the gnocchi to the cauliflower mixture and pour into a deep 23cm round baking dish (or equivalent), cover with cheesy breadcrumbs and bake for 15–20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a few sprigs of thyme, on it's own, with a bitter green salad, or alongside slow–roasted lamb.
Stuck in the Kitchen
Sarah Tuck is a food writer and photographer based in Auckland. For more recipe ideas and cooking inspiration, visit her beautifully photographed blog, Stuck in the Kitchen. To read a little more about her and find out how Stuck in the Kitchen began, click here to read our story on her.
Keep up to date with
dish weekly recipes,
food news, and events.
Related Content
latest issue:
127
In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.