GRILLED LEEKS VINAIGRETTE

This is very Basque, and a good dish for summer barbecues. Leeks and peppers are both pretty easy to get hold of and this is a really great way to eat them: it’s all about the contrast of warm and cold, sweet and sour.

FOR 4–6

6 medium leeks

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a drizzle of extra virgin olive oils

For the vinaigrette

½ a red onion, very finely chopped

½ a red pepper, very finely chopped

½ a long green pepper, very finely chopped

25ml sherry vinegar

60ml extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Trim the roots of the leeks, remove the first couple of layers, then cut off the green ends: you want to keep only the white and light green parts. Clean the trimmed leeks thoroughly to get rid of any dirt. Bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil and blanch the leeks until soft, then remove them to a large bowl of iced water.

Drain the leeks. You can cook them outside on the barbecue or, if you are cooking inside on the stove and the leeks aren’t too large, you can fry them whole in a pan with a little drizzle of olive oil until they are golden brown all over. Season them while they are still warm and cut into four or bite-sized pieces.

Mix all the vinaigrette ingredients together, pour over the warm leek pieces and serve.