This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was a surprising hit in our household. I have to admit that Leeks Vinaigrette with Mimosa (p 111) – a “classic dish” of tender leeks bathed in vinaigrette (made with walnut oil) topped with grated hard-boiled egg (which resembles mimosa flowers, hence the name) – didn’t really sound like much but it really worked well!
I wasn’t able to find baby leeks so I just used regular sized ones – I cooked them for about 15 minutes, then removed them from the water, cooled them slightly and split then into quarters. I actually served this dish cold which I liked a lot – it was lovely and light and fresh for an early spring evening. My only criticism of the dish would be that I was expecting a lot more walnut flavour in the vinaigrette (I love using different types of oils in salad dressings) but it wasn’t a big deal.
This tasted like “classic Paris café” to me. And I’ll remember it again when I think I have nothing in the house to eat. One leek, one egg and some vinaigrette ingredients make for a
Get the recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s Leeks vinaigrette with Mimosa here.
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The star of this dish is basically that dressing!
So glad you enjoyed this, Mardi!!! And I love how everyone knows Bill’s tastes 🙂
I couldn’t use walnut oil because of my daughter’s allergies.. it was delicious with plan canolia oil too.
I thought this dish was delicious too. I agree – what can I make when there’s nothing in the house??? I’m with you on the walnut oil, I think I’ll skip the olive oil next time. But very nice!
I skipped the walnut oil – because I didn’t have any 🙂
I did like this treatment of leeks – its nice to have them in something besides soup.
Hi Mardi! I skipped this one, too scared of the leeks, but I keep reading positive reviews and seeing your lovely pictures I am intrigued! Have a great weekend!
Quartering your leeks makes a much better presentation. I will have to remember that for next time.
They look great! I think that if the leeks were roasted, they would go much better with the olive oil based-vinaigrette. I think that walnut oil is indeed a better idea here.
This is such an interesting mix of flavours. I love leeks.
Will have to put this on the Mom’s Day menu. Thanks, Mardi.
Felt just the same as you and Mr. Neil, Mardi. Wasn’t this delicious? It was certainly a leek bonding moment for me. Although I brought mine to room temp, I did think these dish would taste good served cold. Glad to know you tried it. You are right about the walnut oil getting lost with all the other flavors. I set my leeks on a bed of walnuts and I noticed that my dinner guests scooped up some of them when dishing leeks onto their plates.
There was a sweetness to my vinaigrette which I really enjoyed and went very well with the leeks. I thought next time I would enhance that with perhaps a fruit vinegar or maybe some berries in the dressing? I’m glad you liked this but I’m surprised YOU were surprised by liking it! (There is no fish in it after all!)
I loved this one and agree with you – it’s hard to say there’s nothing to eat when something this delicious is so easy.
That sounds great and would be a different way of preparing leeks for a change…!
Who can beat “classic Paris cafe” at home? I really enjoyed it too. Could become a fixture on the table.
Glad you enjoyed this dish…I thought it was surprisingly good! It will be making many repeat appearances on my table! Have a good weekend!
What a great presentation of this very nice recipe! So glad we were not the only ones who really enjoyed this!
This was a surprise hit with us as well. Not that I was expecting not to like it, I just wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I was thinking next time I would add some toasted walnuts to amp up the nuttiness a bit.