The Spoils of Spring

The harvests of late spring, a preparation for summer, and a delicious grilled baby leek starter.

2 duck’s eggs
4 small leeks, trimmed and cut in half lengthways and rinsed thoroughly
1 tablespoon olive oil
Knob of unsalted butter
4 Tablespoons fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon English mustard powder
1 tablespoon runny honey
Juice of 1 lemon
50ml Rapeseed oil
1 tablespoon roughly chopped tarragon

  1.  Bring a small pan of water to a boil and put in the duck eggs. Boil for around 10-12 minutes. When cooked, remove the eggs and cool under cold running water, preventing a black ring from appearing around the yolk. Set aside.
  2. Bring another saucepan of water to a boil and place trimmed and rinsed leeks in the water. Boil for 4-5 minutes until the leeks are tender. Once cooked, remove from the water, and once cool enough to handle, slice in half again lengthways.
  3. Place a griddle pan over a high heat. While it is heating up, put the leeks on a plate and drizzle in olive oil. Then place the leeks onto the hot griddle pan, turning them over after 2 minutes when they have grill marks on both sides.
  4. Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over a low heat and melt the butter. Once melted, add the breadcrumbs and toss them in the butter to coat all over. Once golden brown and toasted, set aside.  
  5. To make the dressing, put the mustard powder, honey, lemon juice, rapeseed oil, and tarragon into a small bowl and whisk until combined.
  6. Place some griddled leeks onto each serving plate, drizzle the dressing over the leeks and sprinkle on the toasted breadcrumbs. Peel the duck’s eggs and grate over the top. Serve and enjoy.

Griddled baby leeks with honey & mustard dressing

With Summer just on the horizon, our gardeners have been hard at work laying the foundation for this year’s menus at the Lodge.

Our polytunnels are the perfect answer to ensure that many of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs that we grow receive the very best conditions – achieving optimum flavour!

As we begin to harvest our broad beans, peas, baby carrots, shallots, and more, our herb garden continues to flourish and provide us with an abundance of fresh flavours and seasonings. We can also begin to pick the first crop of baby leeks, whilst leaving others to continue to grow into the autumn. 

Baby leeks are sweeter than their more mature version, making them the ideal star for this summer starter recipe.