It’s Leek-a-palooza in the valley right now!
I know that some people find the size or effort to clean them to be a little intimidating, so let’s dive right in to how easy they can be. And how DELICIOUS!
This recipe can be altered to be vegetarian, vegan, or not. Super simple, and easy to do on a small or large scale for the perfect cold weather side dish.
Ingredients
Leeks. (as many as you have! Assume half a leek per person as a side dish)
Cream (or vegetable stock) Enough to come just over halfway up a split leek. This amount will vary wildly based on how many leeks you’re doing, and what size pan you’re using.
Salt & pepper to taste
**optional- Fresh herbs (Thyme or rosemary both work great) Parmesan to garnish
Directions
Trim off the root end, and the very tip of the green edge of your leeks, and then cut them in half lengthwise. Hold each half under cold running water while bending it a bit to get the water into all of the many layers. Do this for several minutes (leeks can hide a great deal of soil, especially in the dark green tops.)
Now trim all of the dark green part off, and slice it thin, like you would with an onion. The dark green part of a leek is often trimmed off and thrown out, which I think is a huge mistake! It’s delicious, but requires a finer cut to become as tender as the white part.
Arrange the white parts of the leek (cut side down) in an oven safe dish large enough to lay them in a single layer. Sprinkle the smaller chopped green parts evenly over the cut leeks. Season with salt & pepper and cover to just over halfway up with cream or stock. Bake at 375 for 35 min and then switch to the broil setting for the last few minutes (watch them carefully) to get a nice toasted browned top. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and Parmesan if using, and serve. Spoon a bit of cream or stock that they were braised in over them, and this cooking liquid also makes a delicious topping for mashed potatoes, or meat.
Love the leek!!!!!
See ya next week,
K
**Full disclosure- I made these on Friday, but forgot to take a picture, so this photo is one found on the internet, rather than my own.