Poireaux sauce verte

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Warm young leeks with a green herbal sauce

The trick with this recipe is to cook the leeks just to tenderness in order to ensure that their tips remain a vibrant green. As for the herbal sauce, the recipe makes more than you will need. Store the extra in a clean glass jar in your fridge. It will keep for at least a week.

4 young leeks
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. crème fraîche or sour cream

Choose young leeks that are no bigger in diameter than a thumb. Clean them carefully to remove all sand. Slice off the bottom roots and trim to about 8 inches (20 cm) — be sure to keep at least 2 inches (5 cm) of the green part of the leek.

To make the sauce, place the chopped herbs, olive oil and lemon juice in your blender and blend until thoroughly emulsified. Remove to a small bowl. Add the cumin. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce should be thin enough to run off a spoon in a drizzle. If it’s too thick, add a little more olive oil.

About 15 minutes before you plan to serve the leeks, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sea salt. Cook the leeks until just tender, about 5 minutes depending on their size.

While the leeks are cooking, spoon the cream onto the center of your serving platter, swirling it out into a circle about four inches (10 cm)  in diameter.

As soon as the leeks are tender, drain well and place them on top of the cream. Drizzle with the green sauce and serve immediately. Serves 2-4.

 

4 Responses to Poireaux sauce verte

  1. Ann says:

    Wow, this sounds so elegant and delicious! I love the idea of a spin on poireaux vinaigrette. I might put the cream in the sauce — what do you think?

    • Meg says:

      Funny you should mention it. I tried putting cream in the sauce and frankly found it less exciting than the sauce on its own. It cuts down on the zip. But let me know what you think if you try it…

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