Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Poireaux Vinaigrette

The only fresh vegetables left from last week's market foray are lovely green leeks so for dinner tonight, I'm making poireaux vinaigrette. It's a classic French starter of boiled leeks served at room temperature with a vinaigrette. I'm replacing the vinaigrette with a sauce gribiche to add some zing to the dish.
Here's the recipe for Poireaux Vinaigrette with Sauce Gribiche:
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and in another small pot, boil an egg (till hard-boiled).
Trim the leeks right where the green part end and the white part begins and slice off the roots. Split lengthwise almost till the end then rinse in cold water several times.
Salt the boiling water then boil the leeks for 10 to 12 minutes without covering the pot.
While the leeks are cooking, finely chop the hard-boiled egg, a tablespoon of capers, 8 small cornichons (pickles) and a handful of parsley.
Into this, fold in 1 ounce of red wine vinegar and 2 ounces of peanut oil.
By this time the leeks should be done, plunge them in a bowl of iced water then leave them to cool. Drain then dry with a paper towel.
Place the leeks in a shallow serving dish and drizzle the sauce gribiche over it.
I also have two pieces of magret de canard (duck breasts) which I've marinated in 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sesame oil and will roast in the oven for 20 minutes. At the same time, I'm going to roast some new potatoes with whole cloves of unpeeled garlic. Might as well set the table outside and make this a French al fresco dinner.

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