Leek Confit with Thyme (Recipe)

A small cast iron pot holding leek confit with thyme leaves sprinkled on top.

5 from 43 votes

Leek confit is melt-in-your-mouth leeks simmered in olive oil, butter and fresh thyme. It's a perfect ingredient to add to scrambled eggs, casseroles, mashed potatoes, and more. One serving equals ¼ cup for the nutrition information.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Leek confit

Servings:

Calories: 91.5kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Chef's knife
medium pot or skillet
tongs

Ingredients

2 medium leeks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon kosher salt or more according to your taste
few twists of freshly ground pepper
1 large twig of thyme containing several branches on it left intact (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

Prep the leeks. Slice off the end of the root, and the dark green leaves of the leeks, and discard. Slice the leeks in half lengthwise, and feather them open under cold running water.
Leeks are grown in sandy - muddy soil and you want to make sure to get rid of all traces of the grit.
Place the leek halves on your work board, and slice horizontally in very thin slices - as thin as you can manage.
Combine. Warm up the butter and oil together in a medium pot over medium low heat, and pile the leeks in. Add the salt, pepper, water, and large twig of thyme (or dried thyme), and toss to thoroughly coat the leek slices.
Tip: I put the large twig of thyme in a mesh bag to keep the leaves all together. They will naturally fall off while the confit simmers.
Simmer. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. At the end of 45 minutes, the bottom leeks will have begun to brown, called fond, which brings in a wonderful savory sweetness to the confit.
Add the wine and scrap up the fond, and stir the confit. Cook another couple of minutes.
If you prefer to not have any browning, toss the leeks around every 10 minutes or so.
Finish. Remove the twig of thyme, and stir in ½ teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, or more - according to your own taste.

Notes

Recipe makes 1 ¼ cups.

Nutrition