"I am absolutely obsessed with this leek recipe from Bon Appetit. I find every excuse to make it, whether as an appetizer or a side dish. Besides the fact that leeks are one of my all time favorite vegetables, there's just something so addictive about the combination of warm chile-honey-vinegar sauce and salsa verde teeming with toasted pine nuts, capers, and herbs." -- Ann Walczak, Associate Editor
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Toast pine nuts on rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Let cool. Leave oven on.
3. Trim root end of leeks and cook in boiling water until a pairing knife goes all the way through without resistance, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to towels to drain; let cool.
4. Meanwhile, cook chiles, orange peel, honey, 3/4 cup vinegar, and pinch salt in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until reduced by one-third, about 5 minutes.
5. Cut leeks in half lengthwise and transfer to baking dish; season lightly with salt. Pour vinegar mixture over leeks.
6. Bake, uncovered, until sauce is reduced to a glaze and leeks have darkened slightly, 25-30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, toss parsley, oil, capers, pine nuts, and remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar in small bowl; season with salt and pepper.
8. Spoon pine nut salsa over leeks.
* Bon Appetit says that though it is ideal to serve immediately, this recipe can also be made a few hours beforehand and served at room temperature.
** Note from Ann: I have made this recipe with 6 leeks and with 4. 6 leeks gave us 4 servings as a side dish and 4 leeks gave us about 3 servings as an appetizer. I always used the same amounts of everything else, however. I also have a hard time finding Fresno chiles sometimes, so I have substituted just a deseeded 1/2 of a serrano and had success. I have also substitued lemon peel for the orange.
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