Leek Rarebit Toast

It is unfortunate that something as delicious as this leek rarebit toast photographed so horribly. It looks like something that had dragged itself out of the primordial ooze, only to be burnt by the sun...,Hyperbole aside, this is delicious.

Normal rarebit is made with beer but I had none when the urge to eat some hit so I made a bit of bechamel sauce instead.

1 large leek, green removed, washed very well and white part sliced into thin rounds then separated into spirals

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsps Dijon mustard (Normally I use mustard powder, but I was out)

2 slices of your favorite bread

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the leeks and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the leek spirals have softened and lost their shape, a few minutes.

Lower the heat and add the flour. Stir the flour into the butter and leek mixture and cook, stirring constantly and scaping the mixture up from the bottom of the pan to avoid it sticking, and cook for a few minutes until the flour is a light gold color and bubbling away at the edges.

Pour in the milk. Stir to combine, scraping up all of the solids from the bottom of the pan and cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly. Until the mixture has started to thicken. Add the cheese and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until all of the cheese has melted.

Remove from the heat, stir in the Worcestershire sauce, the mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Set it aside for five minutes.

Lightly toast your bread. Once toasted, place the bread on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Turn the broiler to high.

ladle half of the leek mixture over each slice and place under the broiled until the top of the sauce is mottled with color and starting to char - probably about 20 seconds less than I did!