Comfort food in overdrive

Sometimes, you just need carbohydrates! This post goes out to all those people on the East Coast right now, shivering under feet of new snow, when it seems like only days ago that they cleared the last lot from the driveway. I cannot imagine (and to be frank, living in California, I don't have to!). There is something very warming and comforting about a bowl of carbs, steaming in front of you, and this is one tasty bowl. It is also a simple slow cooker recipe, which you know by now appeals to me!

You also know me well enough by now to realize that this recipe won't be completely true to the original (which in this case is Judith Finlayson's brilliant The Vegetarian Slow Cooker). In this case, it isn't that I don't trust Judith - quite frankly, I think I may be in love with her. No, it's because the original is flavored with stilton, and the thought of agonized wails of "Is there BLUE cheese in this?" from around the family dinner table, was too much to bear. I therefore substituted some gruyere, which still gave some melty cheesy goodness, but without the wails. I dream of a day when I can sit and nibble a piece of stinky gorgonzola or stilton and not be greater by horrified gazes, wrinkled noses and shrieks of "But it's MOLD!" but we are long way from that in our house. If you have had more success with the mouths around your table when it comes to the cheese aisle, then by all means switch it back to stilton.

So, brush off that snow, and after you've defrosted your icy bottom on the nearest radiator, scoop yourself a nice bowl of this, and warm up!

Leek and Potato Cobbler with Gruyere
Serves 6-8

3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBSP melted butter
2 cups vegetable broth/stock
3 potatoes, peeled and shredded
5 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
3/4 cup wholewheat flour
3/4 cup AP (plain) flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP olive oil
Snipped fresh chives

1. In the slow cooker stoneware, combine leeks, onion, garlic salt, pepper and melted butter. Stir to coat vegetables, then cook on HIGH for 30 minutes to 1 hour until vegetables are softened.
2. Stir in vegetable broth, then potatoes, and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.
3. Stir in cheese and turn the heat to HIGH if necessary.
4. Make the topping: In a bowl, combine the flours and salt. Make a well in the middle. In a jug/pitcher, combine buttermilk, baking soda and olive oil. Pour into the well in the flour mixture and mix just until blended. Drop the mixture by spoonfuls on to the top of the hot vegetables in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the topping comes out clean. Sprinkle with fresh snipped chives and serve.