Kartoffel-Pastete mit Lauch und Gruyere-Käse

Leek and potato pie, the perfect winter comfort food dish for the whole family. All golden and flaky on the outside and layered with deliciousness on the inside! Simple, flavorful ingredients are the star of this pie. A pillow of puff pastry is filled with thinly sliced potatoes, leek and onion which are baked in the oven with fresh thyme until soft and slightly caramelized. And then, together with crème fraîche, they make the filling which is topped with grated gruyere cheese before being covered with another layer of puff pastry to make the pie complete. It’s so simple and simply delicious.

This potato pie with leeks and gruyere is the exact kind of meal that brings back memories of my first trips of trips to London and some of those traditional British pub meals I have enjoyed over the years. Things like Cornish pasties (a handheld pie) or meat and ale pies. This, however, is a little different. It’s like a giant pasty — enough for four people and unlike the traditional versions, it also vegetarian. Even if it’s not traditional, one things for sure, it’s comforting and hearty, and something the whole family loves!

Potato Leek Filling ready for the oven

Steps for making the Potato Pie with Leeks & Gruyere

How to assemble this potato pie:

  • It’s really simple actually. I use a store-bought roll of fresh puff pastry instead of making a shortcrust dough. First of all for flavor, as I love the flakiness and taste. And second, because it really is a time saver. There really isn’t much work involved in this recipe, other than peeling the potatoes. But of course, you could give them a good scrub and leave the skin on. As for slicing them, a mandoline vegetable slicer is your best friend here. It slices them paper thin in no time at all.
  • To get started, the potatoes, leeks and onions are baked in the oven before assembling the pie. This is key to getting the right consistency as it’s important that the potato gets cooked just enough so that you don’t have any undercooked slices when the pie is done.
  • The warm mixture is then mixed together with crème fraîche (but cream or even a non-dairy equivalent would be fine here — I personally love it for its tangy flavor). Then half the puff pastry is topped with the mixture, plus a layer of cheese and then sealed with the remaining pastry. The egg wash helps give it its golden color and extra flakiness. This is something I started to do when baking homemade pies and gives great results. Definitely recommended.
  • Bake until golden brown and then serve it straight from the oven as a main course with a simple green salad on the side (I recommend trying my simple French dressing — it’s my favorite go-to salad dressing). Dig in and enjoy!

Potato Pie with Leeks & Gruyere

Potato Pie with Leeks & Gruyere (Puff Pastry Pie Recipe)
Looking for other puff pastry pie recipes?

Try my Vegetable Pot Pie with Sweet Potato & Lentils — it’s not quite as pretty, but super delicious. Or try Free-Form Spinach Pie.

Kartoffel-Pastete mit Lauch und Gruyere-Käse
4.22 from 32 votes
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Potato Pie with Leeks & Gruyere

A simple and tasty puff pastry potato pie recipe. Easy to make and a sure winner for the whole family.
Course Main Course
Category Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 713 kcal
Autor Elle

Ingredients

For the puff pastry pie:

  • 1 roll fresh puff pastry, cut in half into two equal sized pieces (275 g - 320 g package)
  • 1 egg, for the egg wash

For the potato-leek filling:

  • 600 g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced with mandoline
  • 1 large leek, white and light green parts, sliced in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • a good grind of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 tablespoons crème fraîche
  • 100 g freshly grated gruyere cheese

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the sliced potatoes, leeks, and diced onion on baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, thyme, freshly ground black pepper, and salt. Spread into an even layer and roast in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, gently flipping the mixture halfway through, until the potatoes, leeks, and onions are lightly caramelised and the potatoes are mostly cooked through.
  3. Remove from the oven and transfer the potato-leek mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the the crème fraîche until well combined. Season with a little more salt and pepper, to taste.
  4. Line a second sheet pan with parchment paper. (Or rinse the same baking sheet to cool it back down to room temperature).
  5. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F /200°C. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and set aside.
  6. Cut the puff pastry roll in half, to create two equal sized rectangular pieces.
  7. Set one half the puff pastry on the parchment lined sheet pan. Spread the potato-leek mixture evenly into a thick, even layer leaving a 1-1,5 cm border on all sides.
  8. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over potato-leek filling.
  9. Place the other pastry half on top of the filling, lining up the edges. Use a fork to seal and crimp the borders.
  10. Brush the entire surface with egg wash and cut a couple slits in the top to release steam. Sprinkle lightly with salt and black pepper.
  11. Transfer to the oven and bake at 400°F /200°C, rotating the pan halfway through, until it becomes a deep golden brown color, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before slicing into pieces for serving. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Leftovers keep well stored in refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. I do not have a kitchen scale so I had to guess and eyeball how much potatoes to use . I wound up using two whole pastry sheets (package weight total was 510gms) due to large amount of potatoes. The flavor of this was good and your mention of possibly using a short crust is appreciated, as I have little experience with making savories with either short crusts OR puff pastry.

    One thing I would change is to not rely solely on roasting in the oven to caramelize the filling. (My filling never caramelized no matter how long I had it in the oven.) There is much too much moisture to evaporate, so I would begin by sweating the onions and leeks in a pan on the stove. In addition, I believe that the moisture caused a problem later, in that the puff pastry did not crisp up nearly as much as I would have liked. Too much of its thickness was soft and unbaked. I attribute this to the excess moisture. (I could not bake it any longer, because the crust would have burned.) Thank you for posting this recipe. I will make it again with changes.

    • Hi Taimi, thanks for the feedback. I provide the recipe in grams as the potatoes in Germany aren’t as large as what I am used to in Canada, so it’s hard to say how many to use. Also the ingredients differ country to country, so this may effect the results. Hope you’ll try this again by adjusting it to what works for you. 🙂

  2. Just made this tonight! I forgot to add the Gruyère before I sealed it up, so I just pulled it out 5 mins early, sprinkled the cheese on top and popped it back in to melt. It was delicious! Will definitely make again and will remember the cheese next time.

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