Tangy Leeks {CtBF} #myParisKitchen
Leeks Vinaigrette. We’ve seen this one before though the first time for Cook the Book Fridays. Whole leeks steamed until tender and then doused in tangy vinaigrette. This version, Leeks with Mustard-Bacon Vinaigrette, from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen has the added bonus of bacon in the dressing and chopped eggs on top, giving it a breakfast-y feel.
I grew leeks last summer in my backyard garden. I harvested the entire crop before the ground froze in December and have been steadily working my way through my supply. The leeks were medium-sized – not the giants found in the grocery store this time of year, but not the pencil-thin ones I love in the summer. This was a good way to use up the last of my store.
I admit that I’m always a bit baffled by this dish. It tastes great, but it’s awkward to prepare. You have the clean the leeks which involves slicing them almost to the root, making them hard to handle. You need to top off the ends to allow them to fit in the pot. They don’t really fit in a steamer. You are supposed to toss the cooked leeks with dressing. How do you do that? I found it was more like rolling them around to coat. I arranged the leeks vinaigrette on a platter, but serving it was a comedy show all its own. Then, we both sliced the leeks into manageable lengths. Why not start with that before cooking, tossing, serving, etc.?
So, I made it, we enjoyed it, but I still don’t get it. Maybe you need to be French to understand…
Try it yourself. The recipe is on page 88 of David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen. To see what my blogging friends thought of this one, check out their links here.
Posted on 2 March 2019, in General. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
A Plateful of Happiness 
No, actually I find this awkward to prepare (and serve and quite frankly, to eat) myself!. It tastes good though!
I used the cleaned and cut from Wegman’s, but I’m sure that was what David had in mind I just find it so much easy and really tasty. Yours looks good Betsy, and nice to have a stash at home.
Oh, Betsy, I feel ya. I thought the directions were a bit wacky also. Usually with leeks, I slice them down the middle to clean them. No directions to do that. Then there was no way to reasonably cover them totally so I just poured the dressing on top. I wish, like Shirley suggested, that I had taken the tough outer parts off. They were difficult to cut. Still I liked the flavor of this dish but agree that it could have been done easier. I questioned whether David could have even made this recipe himself before publishing.
I’ve gone through the same mental acrobatics in figuring out how to clean, cook and present this lovely dish. Trader Joe’s sells cleaned one in a pack of two medium leeks. I put them in the steam oven with a long and narrow sheet pan. Once they are done, I’d cut them in halves. Remove the outer leaves and serve only the tender parts. Still, a bit odd, I must admit.