Ingredients
- • 3 large sweet potatoes (2 pounds)
- • 3 large leeks
- • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into small pieces
- • Salt, to taste
- • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- • 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon leaves or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- • 8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
- • 1 cup milk
Preparation
Step 1
Peel the potatoes and thinly slice about 1/8 inch thick, using a knife or a mandolin. Set aside.
Cut the green tops off of the leeks on a diagonal, to expose more of the interior white part, and discard. Cut the remaining white part of the leeks into slices about 1/8 inch thick, discarding the root ends. Plunge the leeks into a bowl of cold water. Lift the leeks from water with your hands, shake to remove excess water, and place in a colander to drain. Repeat several times to remove all the sand and grit. (There should be about 3 1/2 cups of cut leeks.)
Preheat oven to 325º. Liberally butter a large, flat rectangular baking dish about 11 x 7 x 2 inches.
Overlap one third of the potato slices in a layer to cover the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the potatoes with a layer of leeks, using about one half of them. Dot with butter and sprinkle on one half of the tarragon. Distribute one-third more of the blue cheese over the leeks. Continue layering with the potatoes, the leeks, salt, pepper, tarragon, butter, and blue cheese, repeating until all ingredients are used. End with potatoes and crumbles of cheese on top. Pour the milk over the potatoes. Dot the top with the remaining butter.
Place the dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the cheese on the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes.to 6.
Serve immediately.
Serves 6