Confit Leeks With Lentils, Lemon and Cream Recipe (2024)

I plan to sub a neutral coconut cream (solids from top portion of can of full fat coconut milk) for a dairy free version of this recipe. Mustard and alliums should temper any taste of coconut. Trader Joe’s coconut milk is too sweet (best for desserts). Try Natural Value Simple for a more neutral taste and no emulsifiers or preservatives. Before the purists rip me, not everyone can tolerate (or choose) dairy. Be kind.

This was delicious, but a bit out of whack from an effort vs reward perspective.

My WFM was out of leeks (perhaps due to popularity of this recipe??) so I experimented with 620 g sweet onions ... not the same as leeks, but even so, the finished dish was elegant and satisfying. I loved the interplay of earthy vegetables/lentils and tangy cream sauce. Look forward to making w. leeks! (I served alongside Yukon gold potatoes that were boiled, then smashed w roasted garlic, butter, parsley, lemon juice, salt.)

Step 4's last sentence has you turning up the oven to 400 deg. Is that the intended temp for entire second ~35 min bake (after leeks are turned)?

This has to be one of Ottolenghi's more restrained recipes, but it looks like a winner. Lentilles du Puy and thyme is a pretty standard affair, but the addition of the slow-cooked leeks is genius, while still staying true to a more traditional treatment of the lentils. I can't wait to try this out.

Here are some vegan substitutes for cream that will give the rich mouth feel: tahini, the slightly viscous thick liquid that can be strained off of loose cooked oatmeal or congee rice, blended silken tofu with a dash of white miso, pureed white beans that have been forced through a fine sieve, nut and seed butters. You may need to play around with volume and liquid ratios to get the consistency of a dressing.

I'm visiting friends in the Caribbean right now (St. Bart's) and the only thing I didn't have for this recipe was a food processor. Good news! I took the leek confit that was required for the cream sauce and mashed the leeks and garlic with a fork, and then blended in the cream and mustard and lemon juice. It worked great! Delicious recipe.

I just love Yotum’s recipes, but 3/4 cup oil plus 2 T? I’m thinking half of that would work. Thoughts on this?

Has anyone tried cooking the leeks, garlic, thyme and olive oil in a slow cooker? Since you cover the dish with foil in the oven anyway, it seems like cooking in a slow cooker would yield a similar result without so much 'babysitting' of the dish.

Made this last night as side to roasted chicken. Started with 1/4 c olive oil but added another 1/4 c when leeks were turned. Added parboiled quartered baby white potatoes to last 15 minutes of cooking with the lentils. Everyone enjoyed immensely.

Looks gorgeous, but I would still like to rain on my own parade and ask for a calorie count and nutritional guide for this dish.

Whenever I make an Ottolenghi recipe I’m reminded of a Julia Child quote - “nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should”. This is a wonderful dish.

Mmmmm, the leeks, garlic, and herbs smelled so delicious as they roasted! I did my best to follow the recipe closely. And when I saw that Mr. Ottolenghi called for 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of mustard in the cream sauce, my heart did a flip flop. Yes, I read that correctly, not 2 t, but 2 1/4 t of mustard! As if 1/4 t mustard would make a difference! I felt that there was hope left in the world for love and art.

I cooked as directed and the amount of olive oil in the final dish did not seem excessive. The oil definitely gave the vegetable confit a silky and pleasing texture. A portion of oil was transferred to the cream sauce (carried over in the 1/2 c cooked leeks and 5 garlic cloves). And another portion stayed behind on the serving platter (as in photo, above). You could experiment, maybe try it two ways?

I assumed "settling" (resting?) takes place outside the oven as well. To coordinate with timing of meal, I decided to leave foil on top until serving time, and final dish was excellent.

So after two hours (let’s be real, more for this cook) my lentils were HARD. They did soften a little with the ten minutes of settling. Yes, I followed EVERY step. It’s possible they were on the older side. Since I loved the flavor of this but don’t want to risk this experience again, I’m wondering if anyone has tried just cooking the lentils in water to the desired texture and tossing with the confit leeks?

This was a lot of work but none of it hard and it was really delicious. I cut the leeks and half and just stirred them didn’t attempt to flip. Mine was more rustic but no one cared. I made the lentils two days ahead.

A delight.. but always a challenge making an ottenleghi recipe for the first time. Served with a chicken Milanese and devoured the leek cream. ( next time I might double the leek cream)

Good comfort food. I question the dimension: 2 centimeters is way thinner than what is shown in the photos. And 180 degrees Centigrade seems very high.

I will add homemade cashew cream to the list of vegan alternatives to the cow's cream. It's what I'll use when I do this. Less coconutty tasting, and less artery-clogging than the coconut milk.

Excellent recipe but don’t wast the leek tops! I love slicing and cooking then down use in a soup or another dish. As the tops were simmering it occurred to me to use them in the cream sauce, and keep all the tender hearts for the dish. Delicious and gave the cream sauce a lovely green color.

Doubled to feed 6 of us (w/leftovers). Did the confit in a Dutch oven, kept @350 the whole time by accident (but no burning!). Served with roasted potatoes with figs (also a NYT recipe--used oil from the confit to roast the potato) which worked well w/leek cream, a crisp salad and mineraly white wine. Next timeuse creamy dijon mustard--not the whole mustard! Make ahead: do the confit, cook the lentils. Reheat oven 30 min before company arrives with Dutch oven for leeks; add lentils on arrival.

Delicious! A little tedious but worth the wait. Used cashews instead of cream and brown rice instead of potatoes. So gourmet!!!

This was so delicious. I roasted potatoes and added them to the dish. The leek sauce is amazing, don’t skip it.

Brilliant dish. Looks so nice plated with a puddle of the sauce on the plate, topped with the leeks-lentils. I bought too many leeks and added about 850g cleaned- will do that again. Worked well with 850g cleaned. To those confused about the oven temp instructions, I would assume you are raising the temp for the final trip in the oven

Well, this recipe proves I am not a foody. Why so much oil? Can't anyone cook without the stuff?

Lovely flavours but slightly too-lengthy process in light of end result. If you could somehow make this a one pan recipe-- such as cooking lentils in oven with leeks (minus the reserved portion) with some white wine and veggie stock-- it would be much less faff. Maybe the leeks won't be as silky though

This is one of my favorite dishes and everytime I make it I am elevated to a godlike status. Yes, it's rich, but as Ottolenghi wisely said: it's a main! Not a side. This recipe is glorious.

Served as entree to 3 people — no leftovers. Used MUCH less oil, opting to drizzle EVO over upturned leeks rather than measure it out. Next time I will repeat, only I will rub EVO on the baking dish with a paper towel to help with sticking. Speaking of that: Though used to metric measurements filtered thru NYT, I was very annoyed at having a 13x9 and 11x7 but no 12x8 baking dish.

So delicious! Substituted yogurt for the cream, making a gremolata on the side, mixing less lemon juice, but S&P and dijon into the yogurt. Still a luxurious dish because of the confit leeks. Did it over a few days, eating the first set of leeks with roasted chicken, as suggested, then added the lentils on another day for a vegetarian dinner, with the yogurt topping. I think it's worth it. And, use all the EVOO as instructed and use the extra oil for other dishes, like the gravy for the chicken!