Potato Leek Pie

Potato Leek Pie! With a puff pastry crust and Gruyere cheese. I had a slice for lunch, but I think it would also be perfect for a Sunday brunch or a meatless dinner.

It's Secret Recipe Club time again, and this time I was assigned Christie's blog, A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures. She has an amazingly extensive collection of recipes on her blog, and I had quite a few picked out to consider for this month's post... until she posted this potato pie recipe just two weeks ago. Thank you Christie. I needed this potato pie in my life!

According to Christie, the kitchen is her zen place, to which I can totally relate. She's also been on Emeril Live!! How cool is that? Please visit her site for lots of tasty looking recipes.

This Potato Leek Pie is really, really good. It's kind of like potatoes au gratin, but with a puff pastry crust and sautéed leeks.... and Gruyere. The best cheese ever.

Leftovers of this pie are also delicious.. in fact, maybe even better than when freshly baked. The crust is extra crispy the second time around. If you are planning a brunch, you can bake this in advance and refrigerate it. Once you are ready to serve the potato pie, slice it and reheat the slices in the oven at 350 degrees F on a foil lined baking sheet, preferably with convection heat.

This pie disappeared pretty quickly in our house.

Potato Leek Pie

Ingredients

One sheet of frozen puff pastry, defrosted, or make your own as I did here

1 tsp butter

1 C thinly sliced leeks

2 pounds of Russet potatoes

3/4 C half and half

1 large egg

1 T chopped fresh thyme

1 heaping tsp garlic salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 C coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

Instructions

1. Line a deep dish pie pan or nine inch springform pan with the puff pastry. Cut off the corners and patch the sides that are missing crust so that you have a round pastry crust. 
2. Saute the leeks in the butter over medium heat for about five minutes. 
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Peel the potatoes and slice them very thinly by hand, with a V-slicer,  or with a mandoline. 
5. Whisk the half and half with the egg. 
6. Layer 1/3 of the potato slices in the pie pan. Top with 1/3 of the leeks. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the thyme and 1/3 of the garlic salt and pepper mixture. Top with 1/3 of the cheese.
7. Repeat with the potatoes, leeks, thyme, salt and pepper, and cheese. 
8. Layer with the final third of the potatoes, leeks, thyme, garlic salt, and pepper. Pour the half and half/egg mixture over the potatoes and top with the final third of the cheese. 
9. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. 

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