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Le Chaudron recipe
Gratin de poireaux jambon
Leeks wrapped in ham with béchamel
⏱ 60 minServes 4Easy420 kcal
A recipe from Le Chaudron — the cooking of France’s regions.
01 — Ingredients4 servings
8large leek whites
8 slicesthick slices of cooked ham
60 g (2 oz)unsalted butter
60 g (2 oz)all-purpose flour
800 ml (3⅓ cups)whole milk
200 g (7 oz)grated Gruyère
50 g (2 oz)grated Parmesan
1 pinchnutmeg
1 tspfleur de sel (flaky sea salt)
1 tspfreshly ground pepper
- 8 large leek whites
- 8 slices thick slices of cooked ham
- 60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
- 60 g (2 oz) all-purpose flour
- 800 ml (3⅓ cups) whole milk
- 200 g (7 oz) grated Gruyère
- 50 g (2 oz) grated Parmesan
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tsp fleur de sel (flaky sea salt)
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Quantities scaled for — some (egg, lemon, garlic…) are rounded to what’s practical.
Serves 4. In the app, quantities adjust to the number of guests on their own — and the ingredients go straight to your shopping list.
03 — Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) fan. Trim the 8 leeks, removing the green tops and roots. Cut a 3 cm (1 in) cross into the base and rinse well between the layers.
- Rinse the leeks well under cold water, gently spreading the layers with your fingers to wash out all the hidden dirt. This is ABSOLUTELY essential — nobody wants grit in their soup.
- Cook the whole leeks in a large pot of boiling salted water for 15 minutes until a knife slides in easily. Drain carefully.
- For the béchamel, melt the butter in the medium saucepan over low heat, add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes without letting it color.
- Whisk in the hot milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly so no lumps form.
- Simmer for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring, until it coats the spoon. Season with fleur de sel, plenty of pepper and the nutmeg.
- Gently squeeze the leeks to remove as much water as possible (ABSOLUTELY crucial). Wrap each in a slice of ham.
- Arrange in the large buttered gratin dish, cover with the hot béchamel and sprinkle with Gruyère and Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F) fan until golden and bubbling.
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