Skip to main content
Bon Appétit

Grilled Leeks With Brown Butter and Spiced Hazelnuts

4.5

(16)

Grilled Leeks With Brown Butter and Spiced Hazelnuts recipe
Photograph by Kelly Marshall, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio

The glory of these leeks is the contrast between their deeply charred exteriors and jammy, sweet interiors. Pay attention to the hot spots on your grill and move leeks around if they are charring more quickly in some places than others.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    8 - 10 Servings

Ingredients

1

cup crushed blanched hazelnuts

¼

cup sesame seeds

4

Tbsp. unsalted butter

¼

cup plus 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1¼

tsp. smoked paprika

1

tsp. light or dark brown sugar

3

tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided

1

tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more

3

garlic cloves

12

medium leeks or 8 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, roots trimmed, halved, quartered if large

2

Tbsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare a grill for medium-low heat. Cook hazelnuts, sesame seeds, butter, and ¼ cup oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring and swirling pan often, until nuts are a deep golden brown, 7–10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in paprika, brown sugar, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 tsp. pepper. Finely grate in garlic; stir to combine. Set aside.

    Step 2

    Place leeks in a medium bowl and toss with remaining 3 Tbsp. oil and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt; season with pepper.

    Step 3

    Arrange leeks, cut side down, on grate. Cover and grill, undisturbed, until deeply charred underneath, 10–15 minutes. Using tongs, turn leeks over. Cover and grill until deeply charred on other side and very soft inside (cut through one to test), 10–13 minutes.

    Step 4

    Transfer leeks to a platter. Drizzle vinegar over; top with sauce and nuts.

Explore Bon AppétitLeekVegetableHazelnutNutFallSideHealthyishThanksgivingRosh HashanahDinner
Sign In or Subscribe
to leave a Rating or Review

How would you rate Grilled Leeks With Brown Butter and Spiced Hazelnuts?

Leave a Review

Reviews (16)

Back to Top

  • what do I do with the sherry/red wine vinegar??? lol. Recipe slapped without it though!!!! highly recommend.

    • trent

    • chicago

    • 4/22/2021

  • LOVE the hazelnut topping!

    • Annette

    • Arlington, WA

    • 12/18/2020

  • This was our favorite dish at Thanksgiving this year. The only thing is we under-grilled the leeks and they were a tiny bit tough to cut. Make sure they are custard-y before serving!!

    • Anonymous

    • Minneapolis, MN

    • 11/27/2020

  • This was a great alternative to the usual super sweet or bacon loaded vegetable dishes for Thanksgiving. By all means, make those side dishes, but this really stuck out on flavor amongst all my sides.

    • Anonymous

    • Brooklyn, NY

    • 11/26/2020

  • The world is not ready for this level of audacity yet.

    • M L

    • 11/19/2020