• knife
• frying pan
• wooden spoon
• large pot
• colander
• 8x12 baking dish or several small baking dishes

• 4 large or 6 medium whole leeks, cleaned and sliced*
• 1 T olive oil
• ½ c sour cream or crème fraîche
• ½ t salt
• ½ t pepper
• 1 t nutmeg
• 3 T Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 oz bleu cheese, crumbled**
• 2 c cheese, grated**
• 3 T chives, minced

Bring a pot of water to boil, add white and light green leeks, and boil until just tender, 2-3 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil in the frying pan over medium heat, add dark green leeks, and sauté, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine sour cream with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Parmesan, and spread half of it over the bottom of the baking dish(es).

Arrange the dark green leeks on top, then cover with a third of the grated cheese and all the bleu. Add half of the white and light green leeks, then top with the rest of the cream. Add the another third of cheese, then the rest of the leeks, then the rest of the cheese, and top with chives.

Bake until golden brown and sizzling, about 10-15 minutes. Serve over whole wheat pasta or brown rice.

**The original recipe calls for 6 oz of bleu cheese and 6 oz of something else, such as Gruyère, Comté, or Cantal. In my opinion, using these quantities would make it taste overwhelmingly of bleu cheese. I prefer just a hint of that particular flavor, so I only use a tiny bit of bleu and a mix of cheddar, comté, monterey jack, and/or gouda for the rest.

This recipe, called Gratin de poireaux aux trois fromages et ciboulette in French, is adapted from The Vegetarian Bistro: 250 authentic French regional recipes, by Marlena Spieler.

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