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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 chutney and relish
How to sterilise jars and bottles
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.
Looking for more ways to use leeks? Then check out these recipes before you go;
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.
French Style Leek Confit
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.
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
Hi Nikki
Thanks for contacting me. Have sent you a link, hope it works.
K x
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!
Hi Maria
That sounds like a fabulous way to use these leeks. I’ll be doing it myself.
K x
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!
Glad you liked the recipe Terri and only too pleased to be part of the link-up.
K x
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! 🙂
Glad you liked the recipe Lauren and thrilled to have been part of your link-up.
K x
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!
Haven’t tried freezing it myself, don’t see why not though.
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?
Hi Christina-Marie
Yes, you can freeze this leek confit. Thanks for mentioning that I shall add it to the recipe post.
K
I’m gonna can it ( water bath) so I have small jars at hand! A clear gourmet pantry winner
Hi Heather
Glad you like the recipe so much.
K