Creamy leek pastry

I made up the recipe for this pastry rather quickly. Sometimes, dinner time comes and I stand in front of the fridge in a daze with the door open, thinking 'what am I going to cook?'

I needed something as a side dish for a family meal . I had some pastry in the fridge and a leek - not the most inspiring of ingredients. 

I came up with this creamy, leek-filled pastry square, with a little thyme and tomato on top. It was so yummy and received a 'thumbs-up' from the family.

You could add some sliced ham into the leek mixture for some more flavour. 

Or you could half the size of the pastry and make these smaller for a great finger food recipe for a party.

What you'll need

Made four pastry squares, as a side dish to a main meal.

1 piece of puff pastry (40cm x 40cm), cut into four squares (10cm x 10cm)

1 leek, cleaned and white part finely sliced

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

2 cups milk

1/4 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 roma tomatoes, quartered

What to do

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the pastry squares onto a lined baking tray and into the oven.

Cooked until the squares are puffed up and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. While the squares are still puffy, using a spoon, hollow out a hole in the middle of the pastry (use the back of the spoon and just push down).

Now make the filling. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted and bubbling, add the onion and leek. Cook until the leek and onion are soft and translucent. 

Now sprinkle in the flour slowly and stir well until you have a paste. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly add the milk and using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the sauce starts to thicken. Once the thickening process starts, remove from the heat and keep stirring for a minute or two. Season well. 

Spoon the leek sauce into the middle of the pastry squares until it reaches the top of the pastry. Top with the tomato pieces and sprinkle with a little dried thyme.

Serve immediately. Makes a lovely side dish to grilled meats or lunch with a salad.