Looking for a unique change from the usual side dishes? Then try out our recipe for Gruyere roasted leeks! Leeks are like large onions yet have a mild taste. Which becomes sweet and earthy when roasted until caramelized. And with the addition of shredded gruyere cheese, they get a nice hint of savoriness. Making them the perfect side dish for any meal!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Make sure to clean the leeks: Leeks are notorious for having a lot of dirt and debris in them. This is because as they grow, dirt and sand are often piled up around them to keep them from turning dark green. And as you could expect a good amount of this soil ends up stuck between the many layers of the leeks. So make sure after you cut the leeks in half to thoroughly wash them under cold running water. And use your fingers to gently agitate the layers to help rinse out all of the nooks and crannies.
- Other types of cheese: Obviously we will be using shredded gruyere cheese for todays recipe. However, feel free to use whatever cheese you enjoy or simply have on hand. Some of my favorite suggestions would be gouda, mozzarella, or swiss for a similar gooey consistency. You could also use grated parmesan for a more robust and salty flavor. Or even do half melty cheese, and half blue cheese for a bold and earthy flavor.
- Make it vegan: Also if you want to make this side dish vegan you can easily leave out the cheese. You’ll still end up with a delicious leek!
- Additional flavors: I personally like to keep this side dish simple and easy which is why it has a pretty spare list of ingredients. But don’t let that stop you from kicking this up a notch, as Emeril used to say. You can add all sorts of herbs like marjoram, tarragon, thyme, or rosemary. Maybe add in some garlic if you want your leeks to be a bit more pungent. Or even add a bit of lemon zest for a citrus flavor. Really the possibilities are endless.
- Grill them instead: If the weather’s nice and you don’t want to heat up your oven you can always make this dish on the grill. Which is just as easy and gives the leeks a nice charred flavor. To do it just toss & coat the leeks with the olive oil, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Then place them cut side down on a hot grill and let them cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn them over and sprinkle on the cheese. Then let them finish grilling for another 5 minutes or until they are tender.
- Adjusting the serving amount: This recipe uses 6 leeks and normally serves 6 people as a side dish. So if you want to adjust this recipe for the number of people that you are serving. Simply go with 1 leek per person, and maybe 1 extra just in case you have some hungry folks. I find that ratio tends to always work.
- Serving suggestions: Some of my favorite main dishes to serve these gruyere roasted leeks with include Chicken Normandy, Coq au Vin, Lamb Chops in Tomato Sauce, Pork Lombardy, Salisbury Steak, or Steak au Poivre.
Other Side Dishes You Might Enjoy
Gruyere Roasted Leeks Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
6 Leeks
4 Tablespoons of olive oil
½ Teaspoon of salt, or more to taste
½ Teaspoon of black pepper, or more to taste
1 Cup of shredded gruyere cheese, or enough to cover the leeks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400℉/204℃.
- Prep & clean the leeks: Trim off the hairy bottom of each leek, but make sure to not cut off too much. You preferably still want the leaves of the leek to attach to the base of the stem. Then cut off the dark green tops so that they are roughly 6 inches in length. It’s ok if you still have a little of the dark green leaves still attached but you should be left with mostly the white and light green parts of the leeks.
Then rinse the insides of each leek by running them under cold water to remove any dirt and debris. Set these aside on paper towels to dry.
- Arrange the leeks: Get out a 9×13 casserole dish and place the leeks inside it. Drizzle on all of the olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper over the leeks. Use your hands to gently toss the leeks so that they are all coated in the oil, salt, and pepper. Finally, arrange the leeks in an even layer with the cut side down.
- Bake the leeks: Place the leeks in your heated oven and let them bake for 20 minutes. Then take the leeks out of the oven, flip them over so that the cut side is facing up, and sprinkle them with the shredded gruyere cheese.
Return this to your oven and let them finish baking until the cheese is golden brown and the leeks are fork tender. This should be roughly 7 to 10 minutes.
- Serve the gruyere roasted leeks and enjoy!
Gruyere Roasted Leeks Recipe
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 Leeks
- 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ Teaspoon of salt or more to taste
- ½ Teaspoon of black pepper or more to taste
- 1 Cup of shredded gruyere cheese or enough to cover the leeks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400℉/204℃.
- Prep & clean the leeks: Trim off the hairy bottom of each leek, but make sure to not cut off too much. You preferably still want the leaves of the leek to attach to the base of the stem. Then cut off the dark green tops so that they are roughly 6 inches in length. It’s ok if you still have a little of the dark green leaves still attached but you should be left with mostly the white and light green parts of the leeks. Then rinse the insides of each leek by running them under cold water to remove any dirt and debris. Set these aside on paper towels to dry.
- Arrange the leeks: Get out a 9×13 casserole dish and place the leeks inside it. Drizzle on all of the olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper over the leeks. Use your hands to gently toss the leeks so that they are all coated in the oil, salt, and pepper. Finally, arrange the leeks in an even layer with the cut side down.
- Bake the leeks: Place the leeks in your heated oven and let them bake for 20 minutes. Then take the leeks out of the oven, flip them over so that the cut side is facing up, and sprinkle them with the shredded gruyere cheese. Return this to your oven and let them finish baking until the cheese is golden brown and the leeks are fork tender. This should be roughly 7 to 10 minutes.
- Serve the gruyere roasted leeks and enjoy!
