I call this dish Lasagna even it's not really a Lasagna as it has no pasta in it. But it's layered like a Lasagna. The ingredients are a Meat and a kind of Bechamel Sauce, potatoes and leek.

Leeks, sometimes called "the gourmet's onion" are related to onions and garlic, but have flat leaves instead of tubular and relatively little bulb development. They're easy to grow and delicious, with a taste all their own, very much like a mild onion. The thick leaf bases and slightly developed bulb look like a giant green onion, and are eaten as a cooked vegetable.

I often make this dish, but I'm not capable to do a good shot of it. I tried it many times, so you must put up with the following bad pic. I can assure you it tastes much more better than it looks. :-)

No-Pasta Lasagna with potato and leek
serves 2

2 leeks, white part only
250 g potatoes, cooked and peeled cut into slices

Meat Sauce
1 tb oil
250 g minced meet (half beef/pork)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
fresh thyme
1 tb tomato purée
1 dl white wine
salt and pepper

Bechamel Sauce
1 tb butter
1 1/2 tb flour
150 ml reserved "leek cooking water"
100 ml milk
50 ml cream
2 tb Philadelphia cheese

Cut leeks in half lengthwise. Wash well. Cut each half into 6 cm long stripes. Cook leek in abundant salted water for about 7 minutes. Drain but reserve 150 ml of the cooking water for the Bechamel Sauce.

Meat Sauce: Heat a pan over medium flame. Pour 1 tablespoon oil into the heated pan. Put the finely chopped onion into the pan. Cook for about two minutes, stirring occasionally. We want the onions to soften but not brown. Add garlic at this point and cook for another two minutes - stirring occassionally. Try not to brown the garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the minced meat and increase heat to medium-high. Break up any large clumps of meat while stirring. I use a wooden spoon and just jab at any large pieces. Add salt, pepper and thyme to taste. Cook until the meat loses it's pink color. Add tomato purée and let fry another 2-3 minutes, extinguish with wine and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Bechamel Sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color. Add all the liquid to the butter mixture, and bring to a boil stirring continuously. Cook for about 4 minutes over lower heat, stirring constantly. Add Philadelphia cheese, let melt.

Layer the ingredients repeatedly in a baking pan, starting with the Meat Sauce, then the potato and leek, ending with the Bechamel Sauce.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 200C for 30 minutes.

This post is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, an event created by Kalyn, this week hosted by Rinku from Cooking in Westchester.

weekend herb blogging

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