Creamy Baked Leeks with Cilantro

I picked up some sweet looking leeks at the local Farmer's market and having never cooked with them before, I decided to do something fun with them.  
Plus, I was really in the mood for some comfort food and this fits the bill perfectly.

By the way, the Italian's call this dish "Porri al Forno", sounds elegant doesn't it?

This is a very simple recipe and it's also DELISH!

Honestly though, this dish is not something I would make on a regular basis, but I do think it is perfect for special occasions or to impress dinner guests..Serve as a separate first course or as an accompaniment to roast chicken, pork or beef.

First clean the leeks well in a colander drain well and chop off the dark green part. 
My leeks look a little different in variety because the bigger ones came from the Farmer's Market and the smaller ones came from Trader Joe's.

Slice the leeks to about 1 inch thickness...not less..

Line them up in the 9x14 baking dish like this...

Mix the heavy cream, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, lemon, salt and pepper

What you see in the Patron bottle is fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Pour the cream mixture over the top of the leeks like this and sprinkle the grated Parmesan on top

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for about 50-60 minutes.

Mine came out a little crispy around the edges but it did not affect the leeks.

You may want to check on them after the 45 minutes.

Ingredients-
1.5 lb Organic Leeks
2 cloves organic Garlic (minced)
2 cups Organic Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Organic Cilantro (chopped)
1 teaspoon Sea Salt (I use Maldon's)
1 teaspoon fresh ground Pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed Organic lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh grated Organic Parmesan Cheese


Enjoy!


Sandy V.