Baby leeks and freshwater crawfish gratin in coulis with chardonnay

Freshwater crawfish are curious creatures that look like mini lobsters. They live wild in European rivers and are amazing swimmers, always going against the current. When caught in the wild, they have a sandy residue in the intestine, and this has to be pulled out, which is a grisly process. But in South Africa these crawfish are farmed and fed soft vegetable pellets, so fortunately you don’t have to disembowel them first. Instead they can be plunged instantly into boiling water, which is f