By Hetty Lui McKinnon
Published March 6, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- 4(669)
- Notes
- Read community notes
In this reinterpretation of the classic French dish leeks vinaigrette, tender braised leeks are bathed in a punchy miso vinaigrette, tossed with creamy white beans then served with an oozy soft egg for an easy, comforting midweek meal. Steady, gentle heat is the key to achieving the rich, jamlike leeks, coaxing out their sweetness while ensuring that they stay silky. The miso leeks can also be eaten in other ways — on a slice of toast, stirred through warm potatoes or pasta, or tossed with French lentils and peppery arugula for a simple salad. Make sure you use the whole leek. Many recipes recommend the white part only, but the green parts, while slightly tougher with a stronger flavor, can also be cooked and tenderized, especially in recipes where they are braised. The miso leeks improve over time and can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings (about 4 heaping cups)
- 2large leeks (about 1 pound), roots and wrinkled tops trimmed, stalks halved lengthwise, white and green parts thinly sliced
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 2garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2fresh thyme sprigs
- 4eggs
- 2(14-ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or butter, drained
- Handful tarragon or parsley leaves, roughly chopped, to serve
- Toasted bread (optional), for serving
- 4teaspoons white miso paste
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1garlic clove, grated
- 2teaspoons red-wine vinegar
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the Leeks
For the Miso Vinaigrette
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1687 calories; 178 grams fat; 103 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 57 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 925 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.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
Prepare the leeks: Place the sliced leeks into a colander and rinse them well, rubbing to loosen any dirt. Rinse them again and drain well. (There is no need to dry them, as the residual water is useful in cooking the leeks.)
Step
2
Heat a large Dutch oven or skillet on medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, along with the leeks. Season generously with salt and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid cooks off and leeks start to stick to the pan, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step
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Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high. Add the eggs and continue to cook over medium-high for 7 minutes. (Make sure you set a timer.) Set up an ice bath. Using a spider ladle or slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the water and immediately add them to the ice bath. Cool for 3 to 4 minutes, then peel and set aside.
Step
4
Make the vinaigrette: In a large bowl, whisk together the miso paste, Dijon mustard, garlic, vinegar and olive oil.
Step
5
Uncover the leeks — they will have reduced into a silky, jammy consistency. Discard the thyme, transfer the leeks to the bowl and stir to coat in the miso vinaigrette.
Step
6
Stir in the white beans and leave to cool for a few minutes. Add about ¾ of the tarragon or parsley leaves and toss gently to combine.
Step
7
Divide the leeks and beans among bowls and drizzle each with olive oil. Top with a halved jammy egg and finish with the remaining herbs. Serve with toast, if desired.
Ratings
4
out of 5
669
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Cooking Notes
Cold Beans
I heated the beans for 5 minutes with the leaks and it came out very nice. I would not leave the beans cold
Les is More
What great timing - we actually had just about everything on hand to make this (and admittedly not much else!). Subbed 4 scallions and half a yellow onion for the leeks, subbed TJ Everything but the Leftovers seasoning for the thyme. We warmed the beans for a couple minutes at the end - didn’t seem to need or benefit from 20 minutes. Perfect weekday dinner - quick, easy, cheap and tasty. A repeater.
Amber
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! The only reason I gave it 4/5 stars is I because I would rather have the white beans a little softer but I think it works well either way! Literally licking the bowl. So good.
suggestions
Are the beans not warmed up?
Alexandra G.
I hate runny and hard boiled eggs (sorry). What can I serve this with to make it a complete entree? I’m thinking pork loin…thoughts?
Jola
Made it exactly as written except adding drained beans to the leaks in the pan for a couple of minutes to warm up. Absolutely delicious! Lovely flavor of miso vinaigrette.
Emmy
Jamie Oliver has a great recipe for leeks and white beans in his Cook with Jamie which I make with or without the beans. But I always add a little liquid (chicken stock or white wine) when I braise the leeks, and I use both olive oil and a bit of butter to start the leeks. It's a fantastic base for any number of variations. Recently I added small cubed Yukon gold potatoes to the leeks before adding white wine and thyme. I finished the whole thing off with a little cream. A winner!
Kerri
I also added the beans and cooked them for a couple of minutes. We ate with arugula and French bread. It was delicious. I will definitely make again.
Jan Powell
This is a delicious dish. The miso dressing is amazing. But when I make it again, and I will, I’ll cut the leeks even smaller. They are jammy but a little stringy. Great recipe!
Leah
Was thinking that the miso vinaigrette plus the tarragon would make a killer potato salad. Has anyone tried that?
Lorraine G
This was soo good. Fantastic flavor. I made a few tiny modifications to the steps. After combining the leeks with the vinaigrette, sautéed chopped asparagus in the pan. Then added my beans and combined with leek mixture when it was all warm. Everything melded beautifully. I lightly salted the leeks and put a bit of Maldon on top when I served. Not too salty. I always rinse my beans too. Wishing I had some crusty bread to eat with it. Next time.
LCJ
Ok, this is definitely a big riff, but it was great: mix the vinaigrette, beans, garlic, and scallions (instead of leeks) together. Prepare parchment packets layering a lemon slice, the bean mix, and chunks of salmon. Drizzle a TB of EVOO and a TB of vermouth & salt and pepper and another lemon slice and thyme sprig. Seal up and bake at 450 for about 14 min. Very tasty and straight forward to make
Aliska
I was skeptical of using the entire leek but it works. I used navy beans, skipped the egg, and just served it on toast like bruschetta - it was delicious. The miso dressing is wonderful.
Molly
Wow. Don't be afraid to pile on the leeks. they look tough, but they melt. So good.
Ediv
This dressing is delicious. Another fabulous Hetty recipe. A riff for pescatarians/tinned fish enthusiasts: Replace the egg with good quality tinned mackerel in oil. Use the oil from the can to cook the leeks. Put a little scoop of the leek/bean mixture, a hunk of mackerel, and some pickled onion on a saltine. Devour and repeat.
CSRcooks
Absolutely delicious and simple to make. Made it as written and served over polenta. Cooked the eggs to soft boiled so they became part of the sauce. This will enter the regular rotation.
C
We have a lot of bags of RG beans lying around our pantry, so I’m always excited to see a new recipe that’s a variation on a bowl of beans for dinner. Unfortunately our grocery store didn’t have miso or leeks, so we had to adapt this pretty heavily by using onions and ssamjang instead of miso. It still came out tasty! The jammy egg yolks really brought it over the top.
Monica
This was really good on its own but I plan to try the leftovers with lettuce for a salad. It was easy to make and exceeded my expectations! I also put the beans into the pan with leeks after they had been cooking for a while.
Lorraine G
This was soo good. Fantastic flavor. I made a few tiny modifications to the steps. After combining the leeks with the vinaigrette, sautéed chopped asparagus in the pan. Then added my beans and combined with leek mixture when it was all warm. Everything melded beautifully. I lightly salted the leeks and put a bit of Maldon on top when I served. Not too salty. I always rinse my beans too. Wishing I had some crusty bread to eat with it. Next time.
Joan
What a delicious dish — made more so since we had all of the ingredients on hand. One sub: Topped the beans & leeks with grilled shrimp in garlicky olive oil instead of eggs. We also plan to use that miso-mustard dressing for other dishes.
Betsy
This dish is so much better than you would think! That vinaigrette is fantastic. The leeks and beans are delicious. Added a splash on white wine for a touch of acidity to balance it out. Will make this again. It “slaps” is my new favorite way to describe my fave recipes here.
EBL
Very salty ( and I used less miso than called for). In general, tecipe was mediocre.
dimmerswitch
With so many recipes to try and so little time to make them all, there aren't a lot that end up "keep & repeat" but this is one of them. Made as written it is delicious. (Although I used beans cooked from scratch - I precook and have them in freezer in can sized equivalent to thaw, heat, use - and a firmer cook on egg because oozy yolk is not our jam.) Secret to getting the leeks jammy is thin slicing them and patience in cooking. I will use the leek vinaigrette with other dishes too.
Christy S
So good, fast and simple and huge on flavor thanks to the leeks. Definitely going into rotation in our kitchen. The dressing alone, which was done in a snap, is very versatile, could enhance many different dishes and salads.
Katherine
This was good! I made it as written, other than heating the beans, because cold beans straight out of the can did not sound appealing. Tarragon was delicious in this. Will make again, but I will not use canned beans. They were really one note, and that note was vaguely can flavored. Next time, I’ll cook the beans from dry in the instantpot with salt, garlic, and the fibrous leek ends. Dried beans soak up flavor from whatever you cook them in.
Leslie
Very filling and comforting. Made as detailed and took other commenters suggestion of heating beans. The eggs are pretty jammy, which was not a problem for us. Enjoyed leftovers as toast topper.
Andy Buck
I don't like to comment on a recipe that I adjusted, but this is SO good. Yeah, I heated the beans and used dried herbs. Fab! Thank you.
lizakaya
I also heated the beans through, and as I do, as the beans came up to heat i added in a bag of spinach and cooked it down before adding the vinaigrette. Didn’t change the flavor and boosted our super food consumption for the day.
Gretchen
such a good recipe!!! i added diced carrots like halfway through cooking the leeks. also added the beans to warm them up. topped with crushed cashews and nutritional yeast before serving. served with naan.
Delicious
This is delicious. Added mixed mushrooms to cook with the leeks. I used one can of white beans and one can of garbanzo beans.
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