Grilled Leeks With Romesco Sauce
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1medium red pepper, roasted, peeled, seeds and membranes removed
- 6ounces tomatoes (1 large or 2 roma)
- 1thick slice (about 1 ounce) baguette or country-style bread, lightly toasted
- 1large garlic clove, peeled
- ¼cup toasted almonds, or a combination of almonds and skinned roasted hazelnuts
- ½ to 1teaspoon pure ground chili powder or red pepper flakes, to taste pepper flakes are hotter
- 2teaspoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
- ½teaspoon sweet paprika or Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón)
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1tablespoon sherry vinegar
- ¼cup extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- 6fat leeks, or 12 baby leeks
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper
For the Romesco Sauce
For the Leeks
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
218 calories; 20 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 250 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
For the Romesco Sauce
- Step 1
Make the romesco sauce. Preheat the broiler, and cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, and place under the broiler at the highest setting. Broil for two to four minutes until charred on one side. Turn over, and broil on the other side for two to four minutes until charred. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Peel and core.
- Step 2
Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic cloves. When the garlic is chopped and adheres to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the toasted almonds (or almonds and hazelnuts), bread and chili powder or flakes to the bowl. Process into a paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the pepper, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. With the machine running, add the vinegar and olive oil in a slow stream. Process until well mixed, then scrape into a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt as desired. If possible, allow the sauce to stand for an hour at room temperature before using.
- Step 3
Cut away the dark green ends of the leeks. Trim the root end. Cut fat leeks lengthwise into quarters, and rinse thoroughly under cold water to wash away any sand. If your leeks are ½ inch in diameter they needn’t be cut; if they are between ½ inch and an inch, you can just cut them in half.
- Step 4
Bring an inch of water to a boil in the bottom of a steamer. Place the leeks in the steamer, and steam 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
- Step 5
Prepare a medium-hot grill. Grill the steamed leeks for five minutes, turning often, just until grill marks appear. Remove from the heat, and serve with romesco sauce.
- Advanced preparation: Romesco keeps for several days in the refrigerator; the garlic will become more pungent. The steamed leeks will keep in the refrigerator for three days.
Private Notes
Comments
We broil leeks without steaming them all the time. They are delicious. You might want to try skipping the steaming part. Just rince, split in half and put in the broiler
Why not hold them together with toothpicks after cleaning them?
Romesco sauce was delicious. Steaming and grilling leeks is complicated, as they tend to fall apart when sliced lengthwise.
Would definitely make this sauce to go with other veggies or fish.
This is delicious & I’m very f glad l doubled the romesco sauce. I followed the directions and the split lengthwise leeks are a tangle of limp threads. Delicious but will try again without steaming.
Step three is confusing to me. If you cut leeks lengthwise the layers will unfurl and separate. I’m going to ignore that and cut them crosswise—thinking that’s correct by looking at the photo. Serving with quick-grilled, thin cut lamb rib chops.
Our household swears by Martha’s recipes but this one fooled me twice. The first batch didn’t even make it to the grill - the leeks were so slimy. The second time I used larger leeks and steamed them for a shorter time so they made it to the grill but they were just as slimy, albeit with pretty grill marks.