Leeks Tweaked

 A favorite family dish is leeks on toast. This Piedmontese recipe has been in my family for almost a century, garnered when my great aunt married a boy from Biella , Italy. It is a great dish that brings out the garlicky ,earthy flavor of leeks. I thought I'd give  a few tweaks.

I had leftover leeks form yesterday's celery soup. In fact I'm planting the roots in my backyard for my allium garden along with my garlic and onion sprouts.

The leeks do have to be cut and soaked in salted water to remove dirt. This just takes ten minutes.

The slices are then rinsed in cold water to get rid of the dirty salted water.Usually the leeks are boiled in hot water over a burner but I decided to steam them for five minutes in the microwave. Doing this retains more of their flavor and nutrients.

As for the bread I decided to switch it up and use this artisan bread from Shop -Rite. It's a French peasant loaf from the Heidelburg Bread Company.

They don't need to be toasted. The slices are crusty enough.

The leeks were put on top. They were super soft thanks to being steamed in the microwave.

Then it's adding a good dollop of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and a sprinkle of Follow Your Heart vegan Parmesan  soy cheese. 

The slices are then baked in a preheated 325 degree Farenheit oven for ten minutes.

Ten minutes later they were ready - the perfect marriage of crusty and melty .. The vegan cheese is just the same as the real Parmesan and it even browned

As for the taste, it was phenomenal. I love the French bread underneath which went well with the leeks. It sopped up the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and was still toasty and crispy.

The updated version is worth making. It's a nice spin on the original, with an earthier , more intense flavor thanks to steaming the leeks. It's a great weeknight or week day dish, easy to make, easier to eat.