This slow roasted leek recipe was inspired by the October issue of Bon Appétit magazine – the only magazine I subscribe to or read anymore.
Why? Recipes like this.
Simple to make and delicious and sophisticated once it's on the table. Month after month, they send me fantastic issues filled with inspiration, good writing, new ideas, beautiful photos, and stuff I haven't seen on Pinterest.
And no, they're not paying me to say this – it's just that good of a publication. I'm always excited when I receive it in the mail and I read it cover to cover, gobbling up every last bit of content and most of the recipes.
I don't know about anyone else, but I have a hard time reading – like, really taking the time to sit down and read a book or a magazine.
I remember the days when I used to come home with a magazine after most trips to the store and I would actually browse them.
That all changed with the influx of social and digital media; with news and trends and inspiration all in the palm of my hand.
When we're used to the minute-by-minute updates and constant flow of new information, who needs books, right?
Wrong, I say!
I think I need to read now more than ever. It forces my brain to switch gears, slow down, and focus on one thing for an extended period of time.
It's so hard to make myself pause and relax long enough to read, and that's a sure sign that I need to do more of it.
When I turned the page of October's Bon Appétit to see a full-page photo of slender, caramelized, mouth-watering leeks, I first thought "WHAT is that?" and then I realized they were, in fact, leeks and I needed to eat them like that ASAP.
Almost every other type of food is delicious when roasted simply with olive oil and sea salt, so wouldn't leeks be too?
Turns out, they are!
They're so good that they may have swooped in to replace sweet potatoes as my favorite thing to oven-roast.
They take a little longer than veggies, but I happen to like that because they can cook and make your place smell like heaven while you're busy cooking other things.
That's all thanks to setting aside a few minutes of my day for reading Bon Appétit. Booyah.
Next romantic dinner? Cook these simple slow roasted leeks. Next time you host Thanksgiving? Cook these. Having friends over? Cook these.
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Simple Slow Roasted Leeks
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
After a slow roast to crispy, caramelized perfection, leeks turn delicate and buttery with layers of smooth flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 leeks
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
Instructions
- Wash leeks thoroughly and remove their leafy greens and about ½" inch off the bottom of each stalk. Chop in half vertically.
- Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400º.
- In a large bowl, toss leeks with olive oil and salt until well-coated. Place leeks onto preheated baking sheet, cut side down. Carefully wrap the baking sheet in foil – you don't have to seal it completely closed, but as tightly as possible is good. Return sheet to oven and decrease heat to 300º.
- Bake for 1:15 to 1:30, until leeks are very tender. Remove sheet from oven and flip the leeks. Return to oven, increase the heat to 400º and cook for 15-20 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Side Dish
Nutrition
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 1587 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
This worked great, and then they went into soup for roasted leek soup. Yum!
Just made these and they were worth the wait for them to be ready. I kept mine covered for the whole two hours and put them in olive oil and butter. Will be making these again!
★★★★★
Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed!
I love roasting thick slices of cabbage like this with olive oil, salt and pepper but I keep them at 450 for like 45 min, the edges get brown and crispy and the rest is just super tender and buttery. If i want to combine this recipe with the cabbage, would I alter your cooking temp and time or just add the cabbage to your recipe?
Thanks!
Jessica
Hi Jessica –
I love roasting cabbage too – it's so delicious! Since I've never tried baking cabbage with leeks, it's hard for me to say for sure. The leeks do bake longer, so I would recommend adding the cabbage onto the pan when 45 minutes remain on the cooking time. I hope that works!
Great recipe. The food smelled so good as it cooked. I cooked at 300 for 1:10 and ramped up to 400 for 15 uncovered. Perfect recipe.
★★★★
I made this recipe several times last fall and loved it every time. My favorite use for them is serving them atop some creamy, very slightly white-cheddar cheesy grits. Now that autumn is rolling around again this year I just cut and cleaned my first leeks of the season and looked up this recipe once again to reference the oven settings and times. Thanks for sharing such a simple and tasty dish!
★★★★★
I'm confused. Do I wrap the sheet with foil once I put the leeks down and cover them up?
Hi Sean! Yep – that's correct. After placing the leeks cut-side down, you'll cover them with foil and place the sheet in the oven to bake.
I'm confused. Do I wrap the sheet with foil once I put the leeks down and cover them up?
For some reason my turned soggy and reminded me of cabbage if that makes any sense. Should have maybe taken the foil of sooner and maybe grate some parmesan on top...
★★★
Hi Ida –
If it didn't turn out crispy, I would recommend removing the foil sooner. They definitely don't get super crispy, like chips for example, but the edges should have a nice crisp to them.
have just bought some fantastic leeks from my local farm shop, looked for a recipe & found this, they look really wonderful & I can't wait to try it