Creamed Leeks Recipe

Nothing irks me more than the neglected vegetable. It’s abusive—to the vegetable, for one, and to you, because you’re either missing out on your vegetables altogether, or eating ones that taste like mush. Neither is acceptable.

I was a vegetarian for twelve years, so I get a special thrill when I see vegetables done right. Creamed leeks is not exactly something new in France, but it was new to me when I first had a bed of them underneath a simply sautéed fillet of fish.

The dish is easy: Sliced leeks are sautéed down in a little bit of butter until they’re soft and sweet. Then I add cream and a dash of parmesan (my addition to tradition). The cream binds the leeks together and has that same savory-sweetness of the leeks themselves, while the parmesan adds a punch of salt to wake it all up. This simple but decadent dish goes perfectly with everything—under fish, seared chicken breasts, even sliced steak.

May 2011