Potato, Leek and Bacon gratin

This dish was a bit of a "What can I do with the things I have in my fridge?" affair. I had three rashers of smoked streaky bacon, one leek, a pint of "on its sell-by date" milk, and a small piece of Gruyere cheese. With the addition of some flour, some butter and a clove of garlic this sounded to me as if it needed to be made into something along the lines of a Tartiflette! (Yes, I know the link is somewhat tenuous...)



Here in pictures is my method for putting the dish together:

1. Using butter, flour, milk and cheese, make a cheesy white sauce:



2. Cut the bacon into small pieces and lightly fry them with a little finely-sliced garlic:

3. Peel and thinly slice a couple of large potatoes. Put a layer of them into a suitable oven-proof dish, and cover them with about half of the cheese sauce. Wash and slice the Leek and add that too:



4. Add the bacon:

5. Add the rest of the cheese sauce and then another layer of potato slices. Season with salt and black pepper. Dot the top with small knobs of butter:

6. Bake in the oven at approx 120C for about 45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, then turn up the heat to about 180C and cook for a further 10 minutes to brown the top:

7. Serve - either on its own or with something else to add a bit of colour (I had some carrots):

8. Serving suggestion - this dish needs a glass of nice wine to accompany it. Since it is vaguely Tartiflette-like, I suggest a light French red, such as Cotes du Ventoux.

Here's another thought: this would work quite well with some leftover turkey or ham in it too!