Confit of Leeks With Lemon and Garlic
What exactly is a confit of leeks with lemon and garlic? To confit, from the French word, confire means to preserve. The recipe’s simplest description is a low and slow cook of leeks, lemon, and garlic with other aromatics in olive oil.
I had an excess of leeks for my Instant Pot Corned Beef Nilaga, and I thought that confit is a luscious idea to use the vegetable.
I’ve confit-ed numerous times with tuna, mushrooms, and garlic. Although not in its truest sense, all the flavors come together very slowly and yield a very spectacular side or appetizer.
This confit of leeks with lemon and garlic is unbelievably bright and citrusy. The low and slow cooking of leeks, lemon, garlic, and herbs in olive oil makes this flavor punch a great complement for pasta, omelet, or roast meat.
What is confit anyway?
Tradition
Confit (pronounced “kon-FEE”) is a food preservation process where you cook meat long and slow and store it in its own fat. In the French tradition, birds and poultry undergo this process to preserve meat over winter.
Another way to confit is to cook down fruits and vegetables using high amounts of sugar and liquid.
The main idea is to cook the protein or vegetable in liquid where bacterial growth is impossible: high sugar concentration for fruits and vegetables and pure fat for meat.
After a long and slow cook, then stored properly so it can last for weeks.
On a side note,
This may be a Fench technique, but this has been a practice in Filipino households. There are still remote areas and provinces where there is no electricity, hence no refrigeration. Households would store meat in tins with their own lard.
Recently,
Confit-ing is no longer used for necessity. And it’s no longer associated with preserving or aging. Confit’ed dishes are served in most high-end restaurants because it’s delicious and the texture is fall-off-the-bone.
And in this recipe, we are confit-ing vegetables as a savory dish.
Enough of the confit conversation. Let’s get on with the recipe.
Ingredients for Confit of Leeks, Lemon & Garlic
The leek is the main character here with its best friend, the olive oil, while the rest of the ingredients are supporting roles so that you can adjust everything according to your liking.
Then, I added aromatics and herbs that I have in the garden.
This recipe is a great way to use up your surplus ingredients from another dish.
Process
I prefer the oven over the stovetop because the heat is more stable, so I don’t often check it. I just set the timer, and then I go check.
The stovetop is also a good option to do if you are pressed for time. It is just too involved for me because I have to be on the lookout for the temperature, excessive bubbling that may result in frying, haha.
Tips
- Wash leeks to dislodge sand and mud. Dry thoroughly.
- This recipe is not the end-all recipe, so this will be on the salty side. It’s an addition to a toast, pasta, etc.
- You can adjust brininess by adding more olive oil 1/4 cup at a time.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
How to Use Confit of Leeks, Lemon, and Garlic
I love using this in pasta. I toss this in freshly cooked pasta. Let it coat. Then I add lots of cheese.
I find myself adding this on crackers or bruschetta with olives, and I’d have a lovely appetizer on home dates. I have a beautiful recipe for salmon carpaccio, and it’s so perfect to top this with that fish.
This confit also adds a bright punch to grilled or roasted meat.
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MIA
Confit of Leeks, Lemon, and Garlic
This unbelievably bright and citrusy confit recipe is the low and slow cooking of leeks, lemon, garlic, and herbs in olive oil. Make once, and delicious dishes are endless. Great for pasta, omelet & roast meat.
Equipment
- ovenproof dish
- knife
- chopping board
Ingredients
- 2 stalks leeks, thinly sliced and washed thoroughly, roots discarded
- 1 whole lemon, sliced in thin discs, then quartered seeds removed
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp peppercorn
- 8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1.5 cup good quality olive oil
Instructions
- Assemble and mix everything in an oven-proof dish or pot.
- Put in a 200F oven.
- After 45 minutes, mix and pat everything down the oil.
- Check after 1.5 hours to gauge tenderness of lemon and leeks. Cook longer until desired texture is achieved.
- Let it cool and store for two weeks in the fridge.
Notes
- Wash leeks thoroughly to dislodge sand and mud. Dry.Â
- This recipe is not the end-all recipe, so this will be on the salty side. It's an addition to a toast, pasta, etc.Â
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
