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Home » Chutney and Relish » French Style Leek Confit (use like pesto)

French Style Leek Confit (use like pesto)

Author: Karon Grieve Published : February 2016

Recipe
leek confit
leek confit
leek confit

The French know a thing or two about cooking and preserving. This gorgeous Leek Confit hails from France. It’s brilliant on toast, in pasta and even tops soup rather well too.

leek confit on wooden spoon with jar behind

We often think of our wintery veggies as a wee bit boring compared to the brightly coloured zestiness of summer fruits and veg.

But for me some winter wonders pack a real punch in flavour and usefulness – the lovely leek for example and my recipe for Leek Confit will prove the point.

leeks ready for the oven

Love leeks

Leeks are often forgotten and relegated to the soup pot and very little else, they can end up being looked on as a sort of filler veggie.

But I love these guys for their sharp flavour when finely sliced (white bit only and nice and young) and served raw in salads.

Then there is their heavenly sweetness and almost delicate flavour when cooked.

Maybe I am a bit biased towards leeks as one of the finest varieties of leeks in the UK is the Musselburgh leek and that’s the town I grew up in.

jar with wooden spoon

Ingredients for leek confit

All you need are 4 large leeks

1 nice big sprig of fresh thyme or a teaspoon of dried thyme if fresh isn’t available

a couple of tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste and a couple of tablespoons of water

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

close up of confit on spoon

How to make leek confit

I like to make my leek confit by baking my leeks along with all the other ingredients in the oven till they are all mushy and golden.

Just watch that they don’t burn.

Then simply ladle them into a jar.

You could make this on the stove top but then you wouldn’t get that lovely roasted caramel type flavour that you get from the oven.

How much does this recipe make?

I got one large 400ml jar of leek confit from this recipe. Just double it up etc if you have more leeks to hand and want to make more of this delilcious confit.

spoon of confit beside jar

Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.

How long does this keep

Your leek confit will keep for up to a week in the fridge. Or you can freeze your leek confit for up to 3 months.

New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.

Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;

How to make great jam and marmalade

How to make cool curds

How to make great jelly

How to make chutney and relish

How to sterilise jars and bottles

Sticky situations – troubleshooting your preserves

Different types of preserves

My favourite preserving kit

How to use leek confit

Think leek pesto! I use it rather like pesto, spooning it on to spaghetti and swirling it in.

Serving leek confit on toast with melted cheese for a comforting lunch of supper dish’

Or why not just dolloped on to a bowl of potato soup for a bit of added interest and texture.

larder links

Looking for more ways to use leeks? Then check out these recipes before you go;

Mussel and leek tarts

Chicken and leek pie

Prasosalata Greek Warm Leek Salad

Scottish traditional cock-a-leekie soup

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

PS This is a great store cupboard basic, check out my 50 Easy Homemade Pantry Staples for loads of great ideas for stocking that store cupboard. Honestly it’s fun, easy and saves you money too.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
leek confit by larderlove.com

French Style Leek Confit

Karon Grieve
A super easy recipe for leek confit which will liven up past, soup of a toasted sandwich any time.
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Course confit
Cuisine French
Servings 1 jar
Calories 480 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 4 leeks large
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2-3 tbsp water
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4
  • Clean the leeks well and slice the white part and paler green leaves into thin rings.
  • Arrange on an oven tray and add the thyme, oil and water.
  • Bake for approximately 45 minutes till golden and soft.
  • You might want to add a little extra water if they are drying out too much, check half way through cooking time.
  • Ladle into a jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

vegetarian, vegan, paleo friendly
Use this leek confit as you would pesto

Nutrition

Calories: 480kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 6gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 75mgPotassium: 731mgFiber: 8gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 6637IUVitamin C: 66mgCalcium: 271mgIron: 10mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Chutney and Relish

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Comments

  1. Nikki from Tikkido says

    February 2, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    Oh my goodness, that sounds magnificent! I just recently cooked with leeks for the very first time last week, and I’m hooked. I found your recipe over on Punk Domestics, and I’d love it if you’d link up your leek recipe in our collection! https://tikkido.com/blog/parmesan-frico-cups-mushroom-leek-filling-appetizer-recipe

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 3, 2016 at 9:06 am

      Hi Nikki
      Thanks for contacting me. Have sent you a link, hope it works.
      K x

      Reply
  2. Maria says

    February 14, 2016 at 11:22 am

    5 stars
    Hi Karon, just want to let you know that with this recipe my spinach and herb pie (Spanakopita) was amazing. Usually, cook the leeks with the herbs, then I cook the spinach, mix everything up, roll out my own crust, pour the mixture and finish with the pie. This time I roasted the leeks, cooked the herbs and spinach, rolled out my bottom phyllo crust, poured in the mixture of greens, topped it with the roasted leeks ( I increased the amount) and topped it with another crust and baked it. Wonderful, thank you!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 21, 2016 at 11:28 am

      Hi Maria
      That sounds like a fabulous way to use these leeks. I’ll be doing it myself.
      K x

      Reply
  3. Terri Oliver Steffes says

    February 17, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    5 stars
    I am pretty sure that this will be my number one go-to condiment this year. How delicious is that??? I wanted to say thank you for participating in our first Taste Creations Link up. In March we are featuring potatoes and hopefully you will link up again! Thanks for participating!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 21, 2016 at 11:26 am

      Glad you liked the recipe Terri and only too pleased to be part of the link-up.
      K x

      Reply
  4. Lauren @ Lauren Caris Cooks says

    February 19, 2016 at 7:47 am

    I LOVE leeks but Have never thought of making them into a confit! I think my choice would be on toast with cheese 😉

    Thanks so much for linking this up to the Taste Creations Link Party! We hope you will join us again next month on the 7th March for Potato Month! 🙂

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 21, 2016 at 11:24 am

      Glad you liked the recipe Lauren and thrilled to have been part of your link-up.
      K x

      Reply
  5. Carly says

    October 23, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    5 stars
    I love leeks and grew a tone of them this year so I need some recipes to preserve leeks. Have you ever tried freezing this confit? It would be lovely to have in cold snowy February!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      November 23, 2017 at 8:18 am

      Haven’t tried freezing it myself, don’t see why not though.

      Reply
  6. Christina-Marie ABBOTT says

    February 26, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe and as I live in France, I will give it a go. One question, can I freeze the confit for later use say with the spinach pie when I get around to making one?

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 27, 2021 at 9:38 am

      Hi Christina-Marie
      Yes, you can freeze this leek confit. Thanks for mentioning that I shall add it to the recipe post.
      K

      Reply

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