Creamy Braised Leeks
A delicious find from Jeanne! This is a super forgiving recipe. It'll bake at whatever temp your oven needs to be at for other dishes (just add more or less time as needed) and isn't ruined if you, say, forget about it in the oven for a while.
Ingredients
- 4-6 leeks, trimmed, cut into about 1-2 inch slices, cleaned/soaked, patted dry
- Butter
- Capers, rinsed
- Fresh thyme
- Lemon zest
- White wine
- Cream
- Fresh tarragon
- Bay leaves
- Kosher or finishing salt, pepper
- Bread or crackers, for serving
Directions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, toss in rinsed capers and fresh thyme and let sizzle for a couple minutes.
- Add a large splash of white wine (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup depending on taste), let simmer for a minute, then add cream to taste (maybe 1/2-2/3 cup). Season to taste with salt and pepper and lemon zest. Simmer for a few minutes.
- Butter and lightly salt the bottom of a casserole dish, and arrange the leeks “standing up” in the casserole (they should be cozy but not overly packed in there).
- Sprinkle fresh tarragon and salt over the top and tuck a couple bay leaves between the leeks. Pour the cream/wine mixture over the top until it is almost to the top of the leeks but not covering. Dot with butter.
- Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake at 400 for another 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
- Let rest for 15 minutes so the leeks can soak up the cream/wine mixture. Serve with bread or crackers.
Notes
- An alternate recipe to try too: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Creamy Braised Leeks from Plays Well With Butter