Recipe: Cheesy Baked Leeks
Over the last two weeks I’ve developed, written, photographed, and eaten several lovely dishes. I also had my next “How to Basics” photographed step-by-step. But you see my desktop is currently getting a bit of an overhaul at the moment, so I attempted to get some work done on my laptop.
This was a big mistake. My laptop literally ATE all of my photos.
And of course, I delete them as they are uploaded so they are gone off my memory card now too. I cried. But not an all out sob or anything, I swear.
So now I have a conundrum. Post without pictures, or make everything again?
I’ve decided to go ahead and post each of them anyway. I’ve only done this once before, and I’m not a huge fan of it but oh well.
This is a recipe for leeks. Baked leeks with cheese, mushrooms, and bacon. I’ve never worked with leeks before, but we had several in the fridge for another dish and they needed to be used. So I grabbed several other things in my fridge and this is what I came up with. Ok that may be confusing... I've added leeks to recipes, but I've never made a dish where leeks were the main component.
In all honesty, I thought this dish was going to be a failure. It wasn’t. It was intoxicatingly delicious. I made it almost a week ago and I’m STILL thinking about it. I want so badly to make it again, but Brent hates repetition when it comes to dinner so I will need to wait for now.
Cheesy Baked Leeks
(printable recipe)
*Serves 2, maybe 3
Ingredients:
- 3 large leeks
- ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced (about 1 clove)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- ½ cup shredded provolone
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice leeks (white part and light green only) into ½ inch thick pieces and place in large bowl filled with water. Using your fingers sift leeks to remove dirt. Then remove leeks from bowl. Do not pour out into a strainer because then you are just dumping all the dirt bank on to the leeks. Use a slotted spoon. I speak from experience.
2- Place leeks and mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of butter and garlic in a medium sauce pan and sauté for 6-8 minutes over medium heat. Just enough so they start to soften slightly.
3- Transfer entire mixture into an oven proof dish. Add heavy cream, bacon, sour cream, and season with salt and pepper, then stir to combine. Top mixture with both cheeses.
4- Cover dish with foil and bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Thoughts: ZOMG. Sorry, I couldn't think of any other phrase that could possible convey my first thought when I tried this dish. It has so much flavor. I was afraid the leeks would overpower everything but they didn't at all. Everything blended together to make an amazing cheesy side dish, that I think would be awesome for a big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas. (Obviously you'll want to multiple my recipe here!) The veggies weren't mushy, the cream mixture was a nice thick consistency, and the cheese on top was this sinful layer of melted cheesy goodness.
Please make this.
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