Confit Leeks With Lentils, Lemon and Cream

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.