BAKED LEEKS ON YOGURT WITH ALEPPO PEPPER, PINE NUT, PARSLEY BUTTER

A low-faff side to steal the show

Hi!

And welcome back to COME FOR SUPPER. Thank you for being here. This week I am sharing the recipe for one of my favourite sides, Baked Leeks On Yogurt With Aleppo Pepper, Pine Nut, Parsley Butter.

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Onto this week and the recipe…

I feel like I have been cooking A LOT recently and have what can only be described as cooking fatigue. It feels wrong saying it, because of course I love it. I cook and write about cooking for a living but sometimes I get tired of cooking. I think… in fact I am quite certain that EVERYONE, even the best cooks sometimes get tired of cooking.

Anyone who follows me on instagram may have seen ‘cake-gate’ and the six different tests I did to get a marbled coffee cake right. I got there in the end but I don’t want to eat coffee cake for at least a week. Perhaps it was the cake that did it but my enthusiasm for things that take time has waned this past week and I’ve been drawn to a lazier sort of cooking. We talk about cutting corners and shortcuts like they are a bad thing but sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are great. And if the outcome is delicious then who’s to know?

Leeks are best when they are soft and slightly caramelised. There are a couple of ways to do this. The ‘proper’ way is perhaps to braise them, cooking them in a pan and searing them slightly in melted butter until they caramelise, then turning them one by one and cooking them and cooking on the other side before adding stock and gently cooking them until done. Some people add sugar to the pan to get them really caramelised. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I just can’t be bothered to faff about with my tongs and I still want delicious soft and golden leeks. Sometimes I just want to take a shortcut.

This is my shortcut to really good leeks. It’s low faff and its delicious.

THE RECIPE

BAKED LEEKS ON YOGURT WITH ALEPPO PEPPER, PINE NUT, PARSLEY BUTTER

The trick is adding a little water to the oven tray allowing the leeks to almost braise/steam but also gain a good bit of caramelisation and colour once the water evaporates. The base of cool yogurt is perfect against the chilli hit of the butter and the whole thing comes together beautifully despite really not requiring much effort at all. I think these are just as good at room temperature as they are warm from the oven and often make the leeks and yogurt ahead of time and plate up as I am making the butter.

Serves 4

• 4 leeks

• Olive oil

• Sea salt

• 250g greek yogurt

• ¼ garlic clove, finely grated

• For the butter

• 70g Butter

• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes

• ¼ garlic clove, finely grated

• 40g pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan until golden

• Small bunch parsley, leaves  finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan setting.

Trim the leafy greens from the leeks and wash away any dirt before patting them dry with a cloth. Halve them width ways then halve each piece lengthways. Arrange onto a baking tray, drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle over sea salt. Use your hands to coat them ensuring each piece is well seasoned.

Pour in about half a mug of water directly onto the pan (don’t worry about hitting or not hitting the leeks, this it to help them steam) and bake for 30 minutes until the water has evaporated and the leeks are soft and golden.

Whisk the yogurt with the finely grated garlic and a good pinch of salt and set aside.

Melt the butter into a small saucepan and cook until it is frothing and you begin to see brown flecks appearing in the base of the pan. Switch off the heat and add the Aleppo pepper and the finely grated garlic, stir to combine, then stir in the pine nuts and the parsley along with a good pinch of salt.

Spread the yogurt onto a serving plate, top with the leeks and spoon over the butter.

Baked Leeks On Yogurt With Allepo Pepper

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MUSIC TO COOK TO

A BIG throwback to the 2000’s this week which I highly recommend.

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Thank you for reading and see you next week

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