Leek Gratin & Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc, French Cooking, Peach Liqueur, Beans, Vegetarian, American Wine, One Pot Meal

Chenin Blanc doesn't get nearly enough love, which is absolutely fine by us because it means there are still loads of great bottles without eye-watering prices.

It's a bit of a shape shifter too. Some are lean and zippy, some are rich and waxy, some are sweet enough for pudding, and somehow they're all the same grape. If you're not quite sure what you're after but know you want a really good bottle of white, Chenin Blanc is rarely a bad shout.

This is exactly why we keep banging on about Chenin Blanc.

Lieu Dit haven't tried to make the biggest, richest or boldest white on the shelf. They've just made one that's incredibly easy to come back to. Fresh enough to keep things lively, enough texture to stop it feeling boring, and the sort of bottle that disappears while everyone's still deciding what to cook.

If you're opening a bottle because it's Friday night, this works. If you're cooking something vaguely involving butter, lemon or roast chicken, this works. If you've just remembered you've got friends coming round in twenty minutes, this definitely works.

Sweet Leek Gratin

Ingredients

Gratin

1 large leek
a tin of cannellini beans, drained
1 large shallot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
½ tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
Leaves from 4 sprigs thyme
Zest of 1 lemon
50ml good olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Roast the leek

Heat the oven to 200°C.

Cut the leek into chunky wedges.

Season with Liqueur de Peche, olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes

2. Build the gratin

Meanwhile, gently cook the shallot and thyme in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add your garlic and crushed fennel seed and cook for another minute.

Remove the thyme.

Add the cannellini beans and about 50ml water (or 50ml of Lieu Dit).

Mash roughly 15-20% of the beans with a spoon. Leave the rest whole.

This gives a naturally creamy texture without cream.

Fold in some of the leek and half the lemon zest.

Transfer to a gratin dish (or do the whole process in a sensibly sized oven safe pot/pan to save on washing up).

3. Finishing up

Add the remaining leek to the top and grate Comté all over.

Over for 20-25 minutes.

Once it's cooked golden add some olive oil, lemon zest and parsley.

Why It Worked

There's no secret ingredient here, just a few things that happen to get on really well together. Sweet roasted leeks, creamy cannellini beans, plenty of Comté and a bit of lemon. The Chenin keeps the whole thing feeling bright, so instead of getting heavier as you eat, it somehow gets easier to go back for another bite.

Lieu Dit Chenin Blanc

View Bottle

Jean-Baptiste Joannet, Liqueur de Peche de Vigne

View Bottle

See More Pairings

More Pairings