TASTE: A Thomas Keller-inspired recipe for leek pudding will provide a refreshing alternative to potatoes

I LOVE A GOOD veggie dish that works as both a one-pot supper but also one that could be served as part of a Sunday lunch instead of spuds, which although I adore, I do get fed up with every now and then. This leek pudding comes from Thomas Keller, of the French Laundry fame, and in his recipe he uses brioche, which I have replaced with a good quality white loaf. I would imagine the brioche cubes would make it even more luscious and rich, but to be honest the plain ones worked really well. This also survived one re-heating and re-serving on day two and just about made it to day three, although it had gone a bit rubbery at this stage. But I would highly recommend serving on its own mid-week or part of something more lavish on a Sunday. It would be gorgeous with roast chicken, I bet.

The pork and fennel stew came from Valentine Warner, who has a good few decent recipes in both of his cook books. This pork dish is also quite handy in the sense that you don’t have to brown the meat off first, which does speed up the whole process of getting it in the oven to cook. The cinnamon in my version has been cut down considerably. I felt it was too much having a teaspoon in there, as a pinch is more than enough.

He served his with some polenta, which I made for the photo, but to be honest, I really despise polenta. You have to shove so much butter and Parmesan in it to make it taste edible, let alone good, that I just don’t think it’s worth the calories and fat. It’s one of those foods that no matter how cleverly it was served up throughout the 1990s, it never rocked my world. I suppose the only reason I thought about making it was because I’m sure readers get fed up with being told to serve things with either boiled or mashed spuds or some rice, or even my usual “serve with a green salad” instructions.

But I do find that making some fancy potato dish, if you’re already making a stew, is not necessary. And anyway, now is the time for some gorgeous new season potatoes to be hitting the stores, so instructing everyone to serve boiled new potatoes is probably very timely.

Anyway, this is a lovely dish and the fat in the pork shoulder seems to melt down a lot quicker than, say, lamb fat. I doubled the amount of fennel and onions in it and have to say that when they’d softened right up, they tasted so good they could have been a meal in themselves. This is a great stew that’s a bit lighter than most red wine ones. It is perfect for sunnier weather that still has a bit of a chill in the air.

Leek and bread pudding

Serves six to eight

6 really big leeks

salt and pepper

50g butter

Splash olive oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

Few sprigs thyme

1 loaf decent white bread (about 600 g)

500ml milk

500ml cream

3 eggs

nutmeg (grated, optional)

250g grated Gruyère or Cheddar

Preheat an oven to 170 degrees/gas mark three. Chop the leeks into two- to three-centimetre slices and sweat them with the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan with a lid on it, for 10 to 15 minutes, until they are soft. Season really generously, then add the garlic and thyme. While this is cooking, cut the bread into three-centimetre cubes and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes or so until they are golden brown. I would also season these lightly.

Beat together the milk, cream and eggs. You can add a pinch of nutmeg to this if you like. When the leeks are very soft, add the toasted bread cubes, mix well and then spoon the mixture into a suitable-sized gratin dish. The leeks should come quite high up the dish, but you do need to allow for the cream mixture to go in, so leave enough room.

Pour the cream mixture over the leeks and bread and top with the grated cheese. Leave it to soak for 15 minutes to an hour or so, before baking for about an hour, till the top is golden brown.

Allow to cool a little so the filling can settle and then serve.

Pork, fennel and olive stew

Serves 8

Olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and diced

4 fennel, sliced

Loads of fresh rosemary

1 head garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 x 30g tin anchovies in olive oil

Rind and juice of 1 lemon

2kg boned pork shoulder, rind removed, cut into large chunks

1 large tbsp tomato puree

1 pinch cinnamon

1 bottle red wine

200g black, wrinkly, stoned olives

In a large heavy-based saucepan, for which you have a lid, heat up a good few glugs of olive oil and sweat the onions and fennel in it for about 10 minutes, with the lid on, until they are very soft. Add the rosemary, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice and rind and season very well. When this base is really quite soft and wilted down, add the pork and the tomato puree and a pinch of cinnamon. Mix really well and then add in the red wine. Bring up to a simmer, then cover with a lid and put in a moderate oven, about 170 degrees/gas mark three, for at least two hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. After about two hours, check to see what consistency it is. You may want to remove the lid for the final 30 minutes of cooking, which is when you should chuck in the olives. Taste, season and reduce if necessary. Serve with some boiled potatoes or some polenta, if you fancy it.

See also itsa.ie

Food cooked and styled by Domini and Peaches Kemp