Soft leeks and browned mushrooms sit under savoury cheddar cobbler rounds for a filling one-dish meal.
Ingredients
- 2 medium, about 400g trimmed Leeks
- 250g, thickly sliced Chestnut mushrooms
- 1 small, diced Onion
- 1 clove, finely chopped Garlic
- 50g total (25g for filling, 25g cold for topping) Butter
- 230g total (30g for filling, 200g for topping) Plain flour
- 300ml Vegetable stock
- 100ml Double cream
- 1 tsp Fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 75g, grated (60g in dough, 15g on top) Mature vegetarian cheddar
- 100ml for dough, plus 1 tbsp for brushing Milk
- 3/4 tsp total (1/2 tsp for filling, 1/4 tsp for topping), plus to taste Fine salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Trim, halve and rinse the leeks between the layers, then slice into 1cm pieces.
- Melt 25g butter in a wide ovenproof casserole over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 5–7 minutes until browned and their released liquid has evaporated. Add onion and leeks; cook for 6 minutes until beginning to soften. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle 30g of the measured flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Gradually add stock, stirring smooth, then add cream, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 3 minutes until lightly thickened. Remove from the heat.
- For the topping, mix the remaining 200g flour with baking powder and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Rub in the remaining 25g cold butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in 60g cheddar, then add 100ml milk and mix just until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat to 2cm thick. Cut 8 rounds with a 5cm cutter, rerolling scraps gently. Arrange the rounds over the filling with small gaps between them.
- Brush the cobbler rounds with the remaining milk and scatter over the remaining 15g cheddar. Bake for 25–30 minutes until the topping is risen and golden and the filling bubbles.
- Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving so the hot filling settles.
Allotment tip
Keep the cobbler dough light: mix only until it comes together, or the rounds can bake dense.