Cheese, leek and bacon pie
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 1
- Dietary
- Nut-freePregnancy-friendly
Cooking for one is a treat when you can whip up this cheesy leek and bacon pie in minutes. No faffing with pastry required – squares of ready rolled pastry and simply arranged on top of the filling in the pan. Just the job for cosy solo dinners!
Each serving provides 1150 kcal, 49.1g protein, 52.4g carbohydrate (of which 12.8g sugars), 81.7g fat (of which 41.2g saturates), 5.1g fibre and 5.38g salt.
Ingredients
- 3 rashers of smoked bacon, cut into 2cm/¾in pieces
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 10g/⅓oz butter, plus extra for brushing the pastry (optional)
- ½ large leek, finely sliced
- 2 tsp plain flour
- 200ml/7fl oz milk
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- ¼ tsp mustard powder or Dijon mustard
- 50g/1¾oz mature cheddar, grated
- 80–120g/3oz–4½oz ready-rolled puff pastry (depending on the size of your dish), cut into 5cm/2in squares
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Add the bacon to a cold ovenproof frying pan or skillet (18–20cm/7–8 inches in diameter) and place over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and fry the bacon, letting the fat render out, until the bacon is lightly browned.
Add the butter and leek. Cook for 4–5 minutes until the leek is soft.
Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes before slowly adding the milk, stirring constantly.
Add the nutmeg, mustard and cheddar and stir until the cheese has melted. Turn off the heat, taste and season with salt and black pepper.
Lay the pastry squares, overlapping slightly, on top of the pie filling. The amount you need will depend slightly on the shape and size of your dish. If you like, you can brush the top of the pastry with a little butter or milk, but this is only to add colour.
Bake for 20–25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Let it cool slightly before eating!
Recipe tips
If you don't have a small ovenproof frying pan, cook the filling in whatever frying pan you have and transfer to a small–medium oven dish before adding the pastry.
