Recipe · Vegetable · Winter/Spring
Spicy French-Style
Leeks
Braised in whisky · OMG Sambal heat · finished with melted cheese.
Spicy French-style leeks, golden and bubbling from the oven.
I hated leeks as a child. A bistro in Paris — and a plate of fish — changed that completely.
In Chinese, leeks are called 蒜 — which sounds like the word for counting, 算. Mom's logic was that eating them would improve my arithmetic. It didn't work. Then a Paris bistro braised them under some fish and my tastebuds were unlocked for good.
In the cold winter-to-spring months when fresh vegetables are sparse, leeks are aplenty. This casserole technique is minimal work — the oven does everything while you pull the rest of dinner together. The sambal, miso, and mustard in the braising liquid make it a lot more interesting than it looks.
This recipe travels through
Paris, France
Singapore
Portland, Oregon
The braising liquid — and everything you need to make it.
What you need
A ceramic casserole dish — round or square, about 1.5–2" in height. I've used a Spanish clay-fired cazuela here (another travel souvenir). A round aluminium cake tin works too — just line it with foil first.
Plus extra aluminium foil to seal the dish tightly for the first 30 minutes.
Spicy French-Style Leeks
Serves 2–4 · 15 min prep · 35–40 min oven · one casserole dish
Ingredients
2 large leeks, cut to the height of your casserole dish
½ cup whisky (rosé, sake, or white wine all work too)
1 tbsp Sambal
1 tbsp mustard (Dijon works beautifully)
1 tbsp white miso
Handful of shredded hard cheese — cheddar, gruyère, or manchego
Method
01Cut the leeks to the height of your casserole dish. Clean and soak — see the Tips section below.
02Whisk together the whisky, sambal, mustard, and miso in a small bowl until combined.
03Preheat oven to 195°C / 380°F for at least 10 minutes.
04Pack the leeks tightly upright in your casserole dish. Pour the marinade over — it should reach two-thirds up the leeks. Top up with more whisky if needed.
05Seal tightly with aluminium foil. Bake for 30 minutes — when you can smell the leeks, you're close.
06Remove foil, scatter cheese over the top, return to oven uncovered for 5–10 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve as a side with white fish — halibut or cod — or alongside a simple pasta.
Cook's tip
How to clean leeks without breaking them apart
01Place cut leeks upright in a colander. Run the spray tap over them and swirl gently — agitate without pulling apart.
02Let sit for 10–15 minutes. The soil dissolves and sinks to the bottom of the colander.
03Lift gently, shake off the water, and pack straight into the dish. Clean leeks, zero effort.
Do this while you make the marinade and preheat the oven — it all runs in parallel.
Golden gruyère on top — the oven does all the work.
Tags
leeks
french technique
sambal
casserole
winter vegetables
side dish
oven bake
