leek, potato & chicken soup

2 leeks, washed trimmed and finely sliced
1 small red onion and 1 small white onion, finely diced
2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped
25g butter
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
olive oil
Maldon
freshly ground black pepper
1l chicken stock
200-400g diced chicken
4T cream
25g grated Parmesan
4 medium or 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
fresh chopped parsley

Sweat the onions, leeks, garlic and celery in oil and butter until translucent. add the potato and stir for several minutes. Add stock and seasoning, cover and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Blitz with a handheld blender. Bring to a gentle simmer and add the chicken. cook for 1 minute, add cream and Parmesan. adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan and a scattering of parsley. Eat with some crusty, toasted sourdough smeared with cold butter.

chicken, leek & mushroom lasagne

1 whole cooked chicken, skin and bones removed, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 leeks, cleaned and coarsely chopped
400g mushrooms, halved and sliced
1 organic chicken stock cube
Maldon
butter
olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

1 pkt fresh pasta sheets or freshly made pasta sheets

~cheese sauce~
2T butter
2T flour
2c milk
50g cheese

Parmesan, coarsely grated

Sweat the leeks and garlic in a pan with a large knob of butter, a scattering of Maldon, a few twists of pepper and a slug of olive oil. Partway through cooking, add the broken up stock cube and continue cooking. Once leeks are soft, remove from the pan and set aside. Reheat the pan, add another knob of butter and gently cook the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Once cooked and slightly brown, set aside and mix with the leeks and chicken.

Use the same pan to heat the 2T of butter gently, adding the flour once melted. Stir the mixture while it bubbles and becomes a biscuity colour. Switch off the heat and whisk in milk gradually, letting the mixture thicken slightly between each addition. Add salt and pepper and cheese.

Put the lasagne sheets in a bowl of boiling water for a couple of minutes.

In an oiled ovenproof dish place a layer of lasagne, then a layer of cheese sauce, then a layer of chicken. Repeat, finishing with a layer of cheese sauce scattered with parmesan. Bake at 180C for 20-30 minutes or until bubbling brown.

Serve with a green salad.