Leeks baked with cheese and a bit of cream are rich and delicious.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Time: 45 minutes
Tools
- knife
- large frying pan
- wooden spoon
- 8×12 baking dish or several small baking dishes
Ingredients
- 4 large or 6 medium whole leeks, cleaned*
- 3 T olive oil
- ½ c yogurt or sour cream
- 4 T grated parmesan or 2 T nutritional yeast
- 1 t nutmeg
- ½ t salt
- ½ t pepper
- 1 c vegan cheese, grated, or cheese sauce**
- 3 T chives or green onions, chopped
Directions
Slice the dark green parts of the leeks into ½-inch rounds, separate into rings, and set aside. Cut the white and light green into 1-inch pieces, and separate the layers.
Heat oil in the frying pan over medium heat, add dark green leeks, and sauté, stirring frequently, until starting to become tender, about 7-8 minutes. Stir in the rest of the leeks and continue sautéing tender, about 15-20 minutes total.
Preheat oven to 425.
Combine sour cream with Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and spread half of it over the bottom of the baking dish(es).
Arrange about a third of the leeks on top, then cover with a third of the cheese. Add another third of the leeks, then top with the rest of the cream. Add another third of cheese, then the rest of the leeks, and finally then the rest of the cheese.
Bake until golden brown and sizzling, about 10-15 minutes.
If baked in one dish, let it cool before cutting into pieces and garnishing with chives or green onions.
If baked in individual dishes (shown), turn out onto plates and garnish.
Notes
* This recipe makes wonderful use of the dark green parts of the leeks – don’t throw them away!
** The original recipe calls for 6 oz of bleu cheese and 6 oz of something else, such as gruyère, comté, or cantal. Even before I veganized it, I thought the amount of bleu was exceedingly high, so I only ever used a tiny bit of bleu. Now that I’ve veganized it, I don’t use bleu at all; I use milder cheeses like cheddar, monterey jack, and/or gruyère melt.
This recipe was inspired by the recipe for "Gratin of leeks with three cheeses and chives (Gratin de poireaux aux trois fromages et ciboulette) in The Vegetarian Bistro: 250 authentic French regional recipes, by Marlena Spieler – read my review.
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