Spicy and rich, this is a delicious and unusual side dish.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 6 – 8 leeks
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce:
- 25g butter
- 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- 350g ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 350g diced tinned tomatoes (I sometimes use frozen ripe tomatoes which work perfectly)
- 100g nduja
- 100ml cream
- 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
- 1 tablespoon chopped flat parsley
- Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper
- Pinch of sugar (optional)
Method
- Melt the butter in a low sided saucepan and allow to foam.
- Add in the rosemary followed by the diced tomatoes.
- Season with salt, pepper and sugar and stir.
- Cook gently until the tomatoes soften – this will take at least five minutes.
- Now add in the nduja, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and allow to heat through to a simmer.
- Add in the cream and again bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is just very slightly thickened.
- Taste and correct the seasoning.
- Reserve the sauce until serving with the leeks.
- To cook the leeks, slice off the roots and any dark green leaves.
- Slit the leek horizontally at the green leafy end and repeat again so that you have made a cross shape cut into the leek just to the point where the white part of the leek begins.
- Rinse really well in cold water to ensure no specks of soil remain.
- Wrap the leeks in a clean cloth to dry them completely.
- Heat a grill pan until hot. Brush the leeks in the olive oil and place on the hot pan.
- Allow to sit and colour before turning and continue turning and cooking like this all of the time being careful to adjust the heat so that the leeks neither stew nor overly char.
- The leeks need to be completely tender with plenty of colour.
- Season with salt and pepper. (The leeks, still sitting on the grill pan may be transferred to an oven heated to 180c after they have achieved sufficient colour on the hob).
- To serve, reheat the sauce and pour most of it on to a heated serving dish.
- Place on the leeks followed by a drizzle of the remaining sauce.
- Finish with the grated parmesan and chopped parsley and serve.
