Braised Leeks

Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

Husband-Tested Recipe from Alice’s Kitchen

Braising is the technique of cooking meat, poultry, or vegetables in enough flavored liquid to partially cover over a very low heat.  Lost River Market & Deli had some lovely leeks, so I bought some to make a simple, elegant side dish for a dinner party. The original recipe called for 4 cups of broth and no wine, but I was trying to use up some leftover broth and so added some white wine to the mix to make up the difference.  I usually use butter and parsley to finish as the recipe below states, but I had a bit of blue cheese vinaigrette left over too, so this time omitted the butter and parsley and drizzled the leeks with a bit of the vinaigrette.  Yummy!  So, make the recipe and use the butter/parsley or make up some vinaigrette (recipe included) and drizzle the leeks with that.  Either way, you’ll have a very nice addition to dinner.

4 leeks

2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth

½ cup white wine

2 Tablespoons cold butter

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt  

Freshly ground pepper

Remove outer leaves; cut dark-green ends from leeks. Trim roots a bit, keeping leaves attached. Halve lengthwise; rinse well to remove any grit.

Bring broth and wine to a boil in a large skillet. Add leeks; cover, and cook over medium-low heat until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Using tongs, carefully transfer leeks to a platter.

Boil broth until reduced to 1/2 cup, 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter; swirl to melt. Add parsley; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over leeks.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette 

¼ cup white wine vinegar 

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard 

½ cup olive oil 

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Combine vinegar and mustard in bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix in ½ cup cheese.  (This will make quite a bit of vinaigrette, so use just a bit to drizzle over the leeks and then save the rest for a salad.)