Well, not really. My husband and I were living in transition while waiting to close on our new house, and now that we have closed, we’ve been busy moving in and organizing.
So it has been almost a month since I posted last. Yet, the vegetables have just kept coming.
I tried my friend Meredith’s Creamed Leeks recipe, which she said was the hit of Thanksgiving at her house. I had a good number of leeks hanging around from the past two shares. I trimmed them all up and washed them.
Then I sauteed them with lots of butter and put them in a baking dish.
Then I added more fat in the form of heavy cream and butter and breadcrumbs.
Looks pretty tasty, eh?
It wasn’t.
I think I used too much of the leeks–too much of the greener parts. Plus, Meredith is a much better cook than I.
Here’s the recipe. Give it a try if you like leeks and cream and butter and breadcrumbs. Maybe yours will turn out better.
Creamed Leeks
- 3 1/2 lb leeks, root ends trimmed
- 2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from a country loaf, crusts discarded)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
-
Special equipment:
a 1 1/2-qt gratin or other shallow baking dish (10 by 8 inches)
-
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
-
Cut each leek into an 8-inch length, measuring from root end, and halve lengthwise, then cut crosswise into roughly 1 1/2-inch pieces. (You should have about 8 cups.) Wash leek pieces in a large bowl of cold water, agitating them, then lift out and transfer to another bowl. Repeat with clean water, then drain leeks well.
-
Cook bread crumbs with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and pale golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
-
Cut out a round from parchment or wax paper to fit just inside a 12-inch heavy skillet.
-
Cook leeks with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, leeks covered directly with parchment, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes.
-
Discard parchment and transfer leeks with a slotted spoon to gratin dish. Pour cream slowly over leeks, then scatter bread crumbs on top. Bake until cream is bubbling and slightly thickened and crumbs are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Bread crumbs can be cooked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature. Scatter bread crumbs over leeks just before baking.
- Leeks can be cooked and assembled in dish with cream (but not sprinkled with crumbs and baked) 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered.
Recipe by Paul Grimes, from Gourmet
Ok, a couple thoughts here. The green parts definitely stay tough, so stick with the mostly white and lightest green parts of the leek. I also chopped them really thin…like 1/2 inch to an inch wide. This all helped. Come over, I make for you, you like, I promise.