Braised Leeks

Oh man, I have discovered Leeks! My wife and I were at the Phoenix Farmers Market yesterday and my wife casually mentioned that she likes leeks. On a whim, I picked up a few. When I got home, I found a couple of interesting recipes for braised leeks from Julia Child and this one at Eggbeater. I improvised and kind of mixed the best from both.

The result was so good I could not even get a photo taken before they were all gone. Mildly crunchy on the outside from the cheese and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside, there is going to be a lot more leek-eating in my house from now on.

Braised Leeks With Parmigiano Reggiano

6-12 medium-sized leeks
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Trim the root off the leeks. Trim the leafy portion off. This should leave the leek white for about half its length. Wash leeks thoroughly. (It is easy for dirt to get trapped down between the leaves. Remove one outer layer of skin.

Select a baking dish big enough so that the leeks can lay in it side-by-side in a single layer. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add the leeks. liberally sprinkle the leeks with more olive oil. Roll each leek around in the olive oil a bit. You want each leek to be coated. Sprinkle a litle kosher salt on each leek.

Cover the baking dish. Put the dish in the oven for 20 minutes. After twenty minutes, turn each leek. (The bottom side of each leek should have browned a bit.) Put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove the lid and let bake for another 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and let bake 2-3 additional minutes to allow the cheese to brown.

Tags: Phoenix, Farmers Market, leeks