If you love simple recipes with an elegant touch that transforms a vegetable into a special dish, you’re going to love these oven-roasted leeks with noisette butter, shallots and toasted hazelnuts. They’re soft, aromatic, delicate, and offer a wonderful contrast of textures: tender leeks, golden nutty butter and the crunch of hazelnuts.
This is a refined side dish, perfect for special occasions, yet so easy that you’ll want to make it on any day at home. It also pairs beautifully with roast chicken, fish, or even legumes. A simple, elegant recipe that’s full of flavour.
If it’s your first time hearing about browned butter (also called hazelnut butter, or brown butter in English), I invite you to check out this post, where I show you how to make it and all the amazing ways to use it.
Ingredients
- 3 small leeks
- 15 ml olive oil
- Kosher salt to taste
- 60 ml unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
- 35 g toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
- 15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Flaky sea salt, for serving
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 190 ºC (or 175 ºC if using fan-assisted mode).
- Clean the leeks and remove the dark green tops, keeping only the white and light green parts. Slice them in half lengthwise, keeping the root base intact so they hold together.
- Place the leeks cut-side up in the Le Creuset Heritage Oval Ceramic Dish.
- Add 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of water to the bottom of the dish, drizzle the leeks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover and roast for 18–20 minutes, until tender.
- Meanwhile, prepare the brown butter: melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it cook for a few minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until golden and nutty-smelling (about 4–5 minutes).
- Add the sliced shallot and hazelnuts, and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until the shallot begins to soften slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Pour the hot brown butter with the shallots and hazelnuts over the leeks.
- Serve directly in the Le Creuset ceramic dish, warm, as an elegant side or starter. It’s also a perfect accompaniment to roast chicken, meats, or grilled/baked fish.
