This “umami bomb” is so flavorful and satisfying, it almost
seems disrespectful to serve it as a side dish. Pair this with a slice of
buttered bread, hedge your bets with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and enjoy a truly
special lunch.
Ingredients for 2 portions:
3 large leeks
about 4 oz pancetta
2 tsp olive oil
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup drinkable white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as needed
chives to garnish
chives to garnish
36 comments:
I'm going to the local outdoor mercato in a few minutes and I just added leeks to my shopping list. You are the geek of your leek, or as we say here in Italy, you are the toro of your poro.
"A fork is just not going to cut it." Loving the double entendres in this one. Looks delicious as well. Thanks CJ.
I have to say it : that looooooks soooo gooooood! Because of the bacon, my boyfriend is going to like this, and because of the cheese, my daughter is gonna love this and because it is a vegetable, I'm going to loooooove this too!!
But, if I may, Chef John, my best blogger ever, as a french canadian, this is my 2-cents with the pronounciation of "gratin". See, it's more like gratin than graton : like if you say stainless but you don't say the "s" nor the "less", you're going to be left with a perfect "tain" for gratin! Even more so if you tone down the "n" sound at the end. Voilà! Merci beaucoup for your recipe.
Chef
Whats the best vegetarian alternative for pancetta or bacon? This looks delicious and I want to make it without dead animals :).
Thank.
There is no such thing as a sub for pancetta or bacon!
boy, that's a beauty, chef. Can't wait to try it!
Way to take "du fun" out of it all Ms. Kia Pronunciation Police. Keep up the great work Chef John.
Why don't you use the leafy green part? And surely you don't just toss that away? Surely that part can be used for something else... Oh and sorry to call you Shirley
Why do you not use the leafy green part? Surely these are not just tossed away, surely there is another use for them?... Oh, sorry to call you Shirley
Making this tonight, can't wait. I hope I pronounced all this correctly :)
this dish was delish! even my kids , who hate vegetables loved it!
this dish was delish! even my kids , who hate vegetables loved it!
Chef, my local supermarket only had cubed pancetta. My plan is to sprinkle the pancetta on top of the cut side down leeks... Am I breaking too many rules or will this accomplish the same thing as your original recipe? The cubes are about the size of a pencil eraser.
That will work! Enjoy!
I suspect many people will give this recipe a pass because leeks are a bit odd as far as some folks are concerned. DON'T DO IT. I made this the other night and it's fantastic; something about the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. My wife was prepared not to like it, but she loved it. Highly recommended.
Came out great! Another great meal from food wishes. Only think I failed at was remembering to get a loaf of great bread to soup up the tasty sauce. Next time.
I love your programs. I would like so much that there would be also wrtten instructions in your recipes
AH-MAZING!! What a great recipe (and extremely entertaining presentation). Made this the other day and everyone LOVED it!
Just made this. Mmmmmmmmm! Finally a way to highlight delicious leeks in a meal!
Greetings Chef, I'll be sure to give pancetta another try sometime. For ya' see, I once thought pancetta to be but fancy Italian baloney to be served up as is in a sandwich. And yes, it was gawd awful.
But in any event I ain't like that no more. I ain't the same, Chef. My finicky lady-friend,lord bless her heart, done straightened me up, cleared me of my drinkin' rum and all. I think about that sandwich now and again. That pancetta didn't do anything to deserve getting unceremoniously dumped into the trash, at least nothin' I could remember when I sobered up. Thanks Chef! You're da' best!
I've never prepared leeks before this, but I have to say, this was flippin' delicious. I'm all about steak, chicken, ribs, pulled pork.. but this may be my favorite recipe from the site so far.
One question - I would like the sauce a touch thicker. What would be the ideal way of doing this? A little flour/butter? Maybe a little cornstarch?
Thanks CJ
Yes, make a roux and use a bechamel instead. Thanks!
Chef John! My fiance and I regularly make your recipes and we absoltely love them. This one was so amazing we just had to let you know. Thank you for doing what you do, sir.
Thanks!
I had never had leeks before, and that bothered me, so I decided to try this recipe. Delicious. The cayenne makes it. Yum. Thank you Chef John.
Was so good, making it again. Best "cooking show" remark ever: "cheap fake crap" hahahaha
We brought this to a 4th of July dinner party last night. It was a big hit! It paired beautifully with rib eye!
We brought this to a 4th of July dinner party last night. It was a big hit! It paired beautifully with rib eye!
Thanks for another winning recipe chef!
No wine, but it was delicious! :-)
I used Aleppo chili flakes in lieu of Cayenne and after putting on the pancetta on the leek cut the leek into 2" chunks to make it easier to eat. Great recipe it was just a little too salty but tasted great.
Hi Chef John, I made this for a Thanksgiving party on the weekend (a first for me down under!) Everybody devoured it and it was just so delicious... think I'm making it for a simple dinner again tonight. Thank you so much for making me look awesome in front of my mates :-D
Chef John- I've made a bunch of your recipes but this was my first encounter with cooking leeks and I came away with a few questions. My leeks were a bit fibrous and pretty hard to cut after cooking, even with a steak knife - does that mean I should've cooked it longer or perhaps removed outer layers of leek before cooking? Though it did seem like it wasn't just the outer layers that were still a bit fibrous and hard to cut as they slid all over my plate-ha! I also found this to be extremely rich and my husband and I could only eat 1/2 leek each, though I did serve it with a small portion of pork loin. Should I have expected that with it being a gratin (hello,heavy cream!? Will other applications with leeks tend to be rich as well or is it considered a lighter type vegetable? Just haven't had any experience with them and didn't want to pass judgment too soon without asking. Thanks for the info!
Hum, chef John, we do have leeks in France you know (and wine and cream and cheese too :) Actually I now have a pretty good idea of how the leek sitting in my tiny fridge in my tiny Parisian kitchen will end up.
I am already thinking of the recipe variations : with a bechamel, with a different cheese (reblochon? beaufort?), changing white wine for beer and mix with maroilles or cheddar...etc. etc.
Betsy, only saw your comment now, indeed you need to take out the harder layers of the leek first, and use mostly the white portion like it is shown in the video. Another beginner leek video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njMtD7Hnlb8
Also leek is very lean, it is the sauce and cheese that go with it that makes it heavier. You can have leeks with just oïl and vinegar like a salad, lighter cream and curry...etc.
I think this could also lend itself to zucchini, cabbage wedges or Brussels Sprouts...
Just made this, absolutely wonderful! It eats like a very complicated dish, but it's so easy!
Running, not walking to the leek and pancetta shop. Can't wait!
Post a Comment