Braised Leeks

Silky and subtle, Braised Leeks are simple yet delicious. This low-and-slow method is also great for celery, fennel, carrots, and/or cabbage.

This recipe was developed by Kate Sherwood, The Healthy Cook. Have a comment, question, or idea? Email Kate at healthycook@cspinet.org.

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
8 small-to-medium leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and rinsed (see Tip, below)
½ cup vegetable or chicken broth (preferably homemade)
¼ tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Sauté the leeks, cut side down, until browned, 3–5 minutes. If they don’t all fit in your skillet, sauté them in batches.
Turn over the leeks, add the broth, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until very tender, 7–10 minutes.
Uncover and season with the salt and pepper.

Tip: Leeks are grown in sandy soil, so work with them over the sink. First, trim the roots off, leaving enough of the root end to keep the leek’s layers together after it’s been halved. Then trim off the top dark green end, leaving only the white and palest green parts (see photo).

Next, halve the trimmed leeks lengthwise, starting from the root end. Rinse the halved leeks thoroughly under cold running water while separating the layers at the green end to ensure that all the grit is rinsed away.