Leeks cooked in olive oil with orzo, lemon, rosemary and parsley

Leeks cooked in olive oil with orzo, lemon, rosemary and parsley

Winter

This is probably the ultimate way to make leeks the focus of a big, hearty, satisfying main course. It’s also a particularly easy-to-make dish, where everything gets baked together in a gentle oven. Orzo is a type of pasta, not much bigger than a grain of rice. I use plenty of grated hard sheep’s cheese, but any aged cheese with lots of depth will work well. Have some good bread on standby to mop up the fragrant olive oil.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 200ml (7fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 rosemary sprigs
  • 3 leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm (½in) slices
  • 250g (9oz) orzo pasta
  • 100g (3½oz) pecorino or other hard sheep’s or cow’s cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve
  • 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
  • 450ml (15¾fl oz) vegetable stock
  • 125g (4½oz) mozzarella cheese
  • Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas mark 5.

Set a large, wide, heavy-based casserole over a low heat. Add the olive oil and when it’s warm add the sliced garlic and the rosemary. Allow the garlic to sizzle in the oil for a minute or so, then add the sliced leeks and the orzo along with half the grated sheep’s cheese, the chopped parsley and the lemon zest. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and stir once or twice, but try not to break up all the leek rounds.

Pour over the vegetable stock, give everything another stir, then use the tip of your wooden spoon to settle the leeks down into the stock. Tear over the mozzarella cheese and scatter over the remaining sheep’s cheese. Season the top with a little flaky salt and more black pepper and bake for 35–45 minutes, or until all the stock has been absorbed, and the top is crisping around the edges and turning golden.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. This is perfect with a tomato salad and a little extra sheep’s cheese for grating.

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