• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Therapist Cooks
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Easy Springy Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Easy Springy Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Food

Leek and Potato Gratin with Pancetta

Published: Jan 31, 2013 Last Updated: Feb 2013 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. 8 Comments

Top with wilted parsleySo, you know that I lived in France when I was in elementary school.  It was ok.  I was young, and I definitely liked the pastries. Also, there were babies in my house at that point, so I pretended that I was their mother.

Also in France I dropped on of said babies on her head.

She's fine. I'm not sure if my mom has forgiven me yet for her forever-weakened heart after that particular incident, but the kid is graduating from high school this year and is a genius and is the tallest one of all of us.

I should have dropped her a few more times to level the playing field.

Anyway, while we were in France my parents learned to cook some super delicious foods.  This dish is inspired by one of the dishes that I loved.  Leeks wrapped in thin ham and topped with a gravy and potato mixture.  YUM.  We got to talking about it at dinner a few weeks ago, and I really wanted to make a version of my own to have on the reg here in the States.

This is creamy and salty and full of gravy and cheese and leeks.  It's easy, you can make it way in advance, and it's GOOD.  Promise.

I was making this for two, so my pictures reflect that.  The ingredient list, though, is for 4-6 servings.  It's heavy, so you don't need a ton of this.

Ingredients

Here's what you need:

  • 6 - 8 oz diced pancetta or prosciutto (or any ham, really)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 large leeks
  • 2 large potatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup white wine
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup milk
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 oz sharp white cheese, such as cheddar or Gruyere
  • ¼ cup parmesan
  • 3 tablespoons capers, optional
  • ½ cup fresh parsley, optional

First, let's clean the leeks.  Cut off the bottom root end.  Mine had a tough brown outer skin, so I peeled that back and cut it off with the root.

Slice end off leek

Then, slice the leek in half lengthwise....

Cut Leek in half

....and cut the halves into little slices so you end up with leek half moons.

Thinly slice leeks

Place the leeks in a large bowl, and fill the bowl with water.

Fill leek bowl with water

Use your fingers to swish the leeks around in the water, then let them sit in the water (they'll float) for 5 minutes.  As they sit, any grit will fall to the bottom of the water in the bowl.

Wash leeks thoroughly

Without disturbing the sediment, carefully remove the clean leek slices to a clean towel to drain.

Let leeks drain

Then, preheat a large skillet to medium heat and add the pancetta (or whatever you're using).  Stir it around for 5 - 10 minutes until it's nice and crispy.

Let pancetta crisp first in pan

While the pancetta is cooking, scrub and chop one of the potatoes.

Finely chop one potato

Then thinly slice the other.  There's a method to this, my friends.  Slice the second potato as thinly as you can.

Thinly slice potato

Now, the ham is probably crispy, right?  If it is, add the leeks and the chopped potato to the pan with the pancetta and the butter.

Add veggies and butter to crispy meat

Stir everything together, and let the veggies start to soften.

Let leeks and potatoes soften together

Then, mince the garlic.

Mince garlic

After 5 minutes, stir the veggies again and add the garlic.

Add garlic to leek mixture

Stir the garlic into the veggie mixture, and let the veggies continue to soften slowly for another 5 minutes.

Stir garlic into veggies and soften more

Then, sprinkle the flour over all the veggies and stir it to coat evenly.  Let the flour cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Sprinkle flour over veggies

Then, add the wine!  Keep stirring, it should mix with the flour to create a very thick gravy.   If the wine doesn't bubble right away, turn the heat up slightly.

Add wine to garlic and veggies

Now, add the cream...

Add cream to flour mixture

....and the milk.

Stir in millk to thin if needed

Then, dice up the cheese and add it to the veggie mixture with a sprinkle of salt and lots of pepper.

Cube cheese for sauce

Now, turn the heat back to medium and let the mixture bubble for just another minute or two.  Taste it, and add more salt and pepper if you'd like!

Add pepper and cheese to sauce

Then, dump the leek mixture into a casserole dish.

Add filling to casserole dish

Now comes time for the other potato!  Layer the slices evenly to form a pretty layer.

layer top potato over filling

Then top the potato topping with salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper potato top layer

And sprinkle the whole thing with the parmesan cheese.

Top potato layer with cheese

Now we're ready to bake!  This is where you would stop if you were making this in advance.

Casserole prepped to bake

To bake the gratin, heat the oven to 375F and bake covered for 20 minutes.  Poke the top with a fork - when the potatoes are nearly done, remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes until brown bits of cheese form and the gratin is very bubbly.  Like this.

Browned casserole after baking

Perfect!  Let the dish sit for 10 - 20 minutes to set a bit.  It'll stay hot, I promise!  While you're doing that, let's grab the capers and parsley, if you'd like to make a yummy topping for this.

Optional topping ingredients

Just like we did the other day, preheat a small skillet to medium-high heat and add the capers with a spray of cooking spray or some olive oil.  Let the capers toast for 3 minutes, then add the parsley. Stir the parsley into the capers for 90 seconds, just to get it slightly crunchy, then turn the heat off.  Done!

Add parsley to crispy capers

Serve the gratin like you would a lasagna, and top with the parsley and capers if you'd like.

Serve while steaming from dish

I served this with crusty bread because....duh.  It's bread.

Top with wilted parsley

This is wonderful.  Easy, cozy, and so delicious.  The pancetta makes a really nice salty contrast to the cheesy creamy filling.  You'll love it!

Layered serving of casserole

 

 

 

 

 

This is so perfect that I included it in this week’s Weekend Potluck.  It’s this cute thing where blogs from EVERYWHERE can submit recipes to share with others – it’s so fun to check out new things!

It’s run by:

  • Meet Penny ~ Tabitha
  • The Better Baker ~ Marsha
  • Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
  • Life As a Lofthouse ~ Holly
  • 4 Little Fergusons~ Tonya
  • The Country Cook~ Brandie

More Food

  • Skillet with spring veggie risotto surrounded by floral napkin and purple flowers.
    Spring Vegetable Risotto with Leeks
  • Smoked salmon charcuterie board with scallion cream cheese and pickled red onions.
    Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board
  • A collage of recipe images for Master's viewing.
    Easy Master's Party Food Menu
  • Small white bowl of cream cheese and scallions.
    Scallion Cream Cheese

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jess

    February 11, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    I made this for dinner this evening and it was just as tasty as it looks in your photos. Thanks for the great recipe, clear method and photos

    Reply
  2. Adam Justice

    January 31, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    I love capers 🙂 ... looking good!

    Reply
  3. trixfred30

    January 31, 2013 at 3:46 pm

    Looks liek you're pretty handy with that knife - impressive chopping skill I mean, not dangerous or anything...

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      January 31, 2013 at 3:48 pm

      Hahaha it might be dangerous to do it one handed while I photograph.....don't tell!

      Reply
  4. JessicaEMGibbs

    January 31, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    This looks unbelievably delicious...I suddenly feel inspired for my dinner! 🙂 x

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      January 31, 2013 at 1:39 pm

      Enjoy it! The flavors are so cozy.

      Reply
  5. Christina

    January 31, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    That looks so gooey, creamy, cheesy delicious that I wanted to crawl inside your post and eat it!

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      January 31, 2013 at 1:40 pm

      That's the idea! Let me know how it turns out if you make it!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Image of Lindsay Howerton-Hastings smiling sitting on dark gray couch wearing chambray blue shirt.

Hi! I'm Lindsay. I'm a maternal mental health therapist, a recipe developer, food writer, and taker of all kinds of pictures. Thank you so much for being here! This blog is about how to take care of yourself and your people without taking anything too seriously.

More about me →

Easy Weeknight Dinners

  • Weeknight Korean Chicken Rice Bowls

  • White ceramic skillet with lemon garlic butter pasta topped with fresh parsley.
    Lemon Garlic Butter Pasta

  • tofu rice bowls
    Pan Fried Tofu with Thai Peanut Sauce

  • Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Most Popular Recipes

  • Black skillet with sliced steak and shallot sauce.
    Cast Iron New York Strip

  • indian butter chicken served with rice in a white bowl.
    Easy Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

  • homemade hibachi shrimp bowl in white serving bowl with asparagus and white rice.
    3-ingredient Hibachi Shrimp

  • white plate of asparagus casserole with a silver fork.
    BEST Easy Asparagus Casserole

  • Braised Chicken Thighs with Leeks and Lemon
    One-Skillet Chicken and Leeks

  • Brown Butter Blondies

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Emails

  • Sign Up! to get new recipes in your inbox

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Loading Comments...