leeks – Eat, Play, Love

Happy Memorial Day to our U.S. friends. Isn’t it glorious not to have to work today! Mike, the kids and I are certainly enjoying it – even despite our dismal weather. In fact, Mike has had the smoker going since the wee hours. If that smokey aroma can’t lift your spirits I don’t know what will!

So while Mike tends to the smoker, it’s back to French recipes. Today we’re going to share with you the recipe for roasted leeks which we prepared to go with our coq au vin. Prior to making this recipe we had only used leeks in preparing soups and risottos. We had never made a dish that featured the veggie front and center, and we were eager to taste the results (Well, at least Mike and I were eager – they are veggies after all.).

First we sliced the leeks lengthwise, rinsed them down and gave them a bath. They are dirty little buggers, so don’t skip this step.

After they were good and clean, we placed them cut-side down in two small baking dishes, then tucked some fresh thyme sprigs throughout the dish.

Next we whisked together some olive oil, Sauvignon Blanc and water with a touch of Fleur de Sel (sea salt). We were fortunate to have some authentic French sea salt from Anneli who lives in France and cooks some amazing French dishes over at Delicieux. The salt was our surprise gift in last year’s Secret Santa hosted by Charles at Five Euro Food (who also lives in France and has some great French recipes on his blog).

After whisking the wine and oil we poured it over the leeks and tossed on some minced garlic for good measure.

We then covered the leeks with foil and roasted them in the oven for 45 minutes at 375F. In the meantime, Mike and Miss A sliced some French baguette for us which we brushed with olive oil and toasted in the oven for about 10 minutes (with the leeks).

After the leeks finished roasting (and were tender to pierce with a fork), we tossed them in the broiler to brown for 2 to 3 minutes, watching them closely. Once done, we removed them from the oven and dusted them with Parmesan.

To serve the roasted leeks we placed them on the slices of toasted baguette and drizzled a delightful dressing over the top. The dressing was a simple mixture of olive oil, Champagne vinegar, garlic, mustard, honey, lemon juice and salt and pepper.

As many of you know, I’m rather picky when it comes to vegetables. So when I say that I really enjoyed these, that’s saying something for a veggie dish. I gave them a solid 3 spoons. Mike liked them too, but being a less picky veggie eater than myself, he said he would have preferred asparagus and only gave them two spoons.

The leeks were sweet and tender, and they were absolutely delightful on the toast with the dressing. The toast brought some texture and the dressing, combined with the seasonings from the leeks made for that salty sweet combo. My feelings aside, they still tasted like vegetables, so they were not a hit with the kids. Miss A ranked them at 1 spoon and Mr. N at 0 spoons. They did eat the toasts up though.

As we mentioned, we served our leeks with our coq au vin for a deliciously French dinner.

Since we often feature these dishes and meals in an appetizing little set-up, today I thought you might enjoy a more authentic view this time. Our actual table is a bit less fancy than the photos (but no less delicious – most of the time).

And speaking of views, we’re going to join in Miss C’s backyard photo challenge. It has been so much fun to see the different backyard views from around the world. So here’s our little suburban backyard:

As much as I detest the suburbs, I do love our backyard space (and our neighbors!). This little area under our magnolia tree becomes our living room in the summer. On weekdays I often bring my work outside; and on the weekends, we play outside, read outside, get together with the neighbors for impromptu BBQ’s, and definitely eat outside. It’s by far the best part of our house.

Incidentally, Miss A and I also had the opportunity to visit Miss C’s backyard, and what a backyard it is! We had such a wonderful day and Miss A (and I) made some memories that will last a lifetime. We’ll share more on our visit to Farmy in a few weeks. Until then, we’re going to spend a few more weeks in France (well at least cooking from France) since we learned it’s such an integral part of our history. Besides, who wouldn’t want to stay in France! Yum! Cheers and enjoy the week. (Miss A certainly enjoyed playing with Ton Ton!)