Pastry:
4 oz cheddar cheese, cut into cubes
12 oz flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz butter, chopped
1 egg
Filling:
1 oz butter
1 leek, using white and light green parts only, diced
1/2 seeded and diced red pepper
4 oz grated cheddar
2 eggs
4 oz heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (careful not to overdo)
Chop cheese in a food processor quickly until it begins to get crumbly. Add flour and salt, and pulse until becomes finely crumbled. Add butter and pulse the food processor until mixture has a consistency of bread crumbs. Drizzle one egg, lightly beaten, and one ounce of water over mixture and pulse again. If mix doesn’t become a large mass, add a little more water.
Lightly floured surface and roll dough to 1/8” thick. Use 2-inch cookie cutter or something similar to cut rounds. Place these circles in mini-muffin pans.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put leeks in pan with some melted butter. Saute until leeks soften, about 5 minutes. Combine leek, peppers and cheese in a bowl.
In another bowl, whisk eggs and blend in the cream, mustard, salt and pepper. Add this mixture to the cheese mix. Fill pastry shells with combined mix, pouring off any excess liquid.
Bake until they are golden brown, perhaps 20 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes before removing them from the muffin pans and promptly serve.
Makes about 50 pieces.