Recipe of the week - 29th June 2011

My boyfriend and I went to stay with his parents in Manchester today. I wanted to say thank you by cooking a quick (because I was tired from the journey) and also tasty meal. I therefore decided to plump for my old favourite of papadelle with bacon and leek. I tend to make the papadelle myself, although this is actually a huge lie. Rather, I buy sheets of fresh lasagne and then slice it into 1 cm thick lengths. This gives a lovely rustic feel to the pasta, since all the strands are slightly different.

Papadelle w bacon and leek

serves 4

2 packs of fresh lasagne

3 leeks

5 rashes of smokey bacon (sliced into thin pieces (lardons))

25g flour

50g butter

200 ml milk

100g cheddar cheese (mature and grated)

optional: parmesan cheese

1. Begin by toping and tailing the leeks. The white portion is the part you want to eat with only 1 inch of the green part.

2. Wash the leek thoroughly and then slice finely.

3. Add 25g butter to a saucepan, cover, and then, on a medium heat, sautee the leek for 15 minutes. 

4. Fry the bacon in a separate frying pan until nice and crispy.

To make the cheese sauce:

1. Begin by making a simple roux. To do this add the milk, butter and flour to a saucepan and heat on a medium heat, stirring continuously. It is important to stir all the while to prevent lumps from forming.

2. Add the cheese to the thickened sauce and stir.

5. Boil a large pan of salted water.

6. Add the fresh pasta and cook for 2 minutes.

7. Add the leeks, bacon and cheese sauce to the pasta and stir through.

Serve immediately, add a grating of parmesan.