A lovely autumn and winter recipe: chicken leek casserole. The first layer contains chicken with bacon, then a rich layer of leeks and the casserole is covered with slices of baguette smeared with garlic butter and sprinkle generously with cheese.
Preheat the oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius).
Garlic herb butter
Crush the garlic clove above 4 oz. (100 grams) of butter.
Chop the leaves of 5 strips parsley very fine and add them to the butter, together with the sea salt and lemon juice.
Mix the butter very well and set aside.
Chicken
Cut the chicken breast in 1 x 1 cm cubes.
Heat a frying pan and add the bacon.
Leave it on low heat for about 3 minutes, so the fat from the bacon comes free.
Add the chicken and bake until it's well done.
Scoop the chicken and bacon with a slotted spoon out of the pan and into the baking dish.
Leeks
Put the frying pan (with a bit of fat) back on the heat and add 1 tablespoon of garlic herb butter.
When it's melted add the leeks.
Stir fry the leeks for about 3 minutes.
Add them to the baking dish.
White sauce
Make a white sauce (roux) by melting the remaining butter. When it's melted, but not browned add the flour at once.
Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and flour becomes one.
Then add the cold water and stir with a whisk. Add salt and pepper.
Simmer for about 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally
Cut the remaining parsley leaves very fine and add to the sauce.
Assemble and baking
Pour the sauce over the chicken/leek mixture and stir everything through and through.
Slice the baguette and butter the slices with the garlic-butter mixture.
Cover the baking dish with the slices of baguette (with the butter side on top).
Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
Put the baking dish for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, and bake until golden brown.
Notes
Cut the leeks lengthwise once (stop about 1.5 cm from the bottom). Quarter turn the leek and again cut lengthwise once (and stop again about 1.5 cm from the bottom). Get the outer leaves of the leeks and wash under the running tap. You can wash all the sand out this way;
Add to a warm roux (butter-flour mixture), cold liquid. Add to a cold roux warm liquid. That way you won't get clumps. When you add the warm liquid to a warm roux you will get clumps!