Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks with Bacon and Parmesan

It’s Friday story time!

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Oh don’t act like this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to your life.

So a few weeks ago I was beboppin’ around on the netz, when all of the sudden I got an email from an old friend whom I’ve known for about 8 years I think. Did I use whom right? I never know. It’s one of those words that trips me up every time I see it. You know, like triangle or harp.

Anyway, I was absolutely elated to hear from her because she’s one of those people that you just want to punch in the kneecaps for being so cool. Check this. She used to run merch for all kinds of famous bands back in the day. (She even ran merch for my band one night!) Then she was a nanny for a few even bigger famous bands (I can’t tell you which bands, because I’d have to kill you, and I look terribly awkward in black and white stripes). Now she has the coooolest little boutique in Oxford, Mississippi, a baby boy that I want to stick in my uterus, and killer eyebrows with an arch so sexy Saint Louis seethes with jealousy.

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(Wait, I have to interrupt real quick. I just popped my knuckles and I seriously just ripped a piece of skin off. Like, clean off my finger. Who DOES that. This bloody knuckle head. That’s who. Pun definitely intended. Also, I just read that a meteor hit the Earth over by Russia. Is that normal? I feel like it’s not. Continuing on.)

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So in her email was a recipe suggestion. A recipe suggestion! I love that! Especially that day because my brain felt like a scene out of an old Clint Eastwood movie. Tumbleweeds, dust and chaps for days. But not really on the chaps.

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Um, this is simply incredible. I never think to leave leeks in huge strips like this, and I’m forever changed. The soft roasted garlic had my booty shakin’. The slightly crispy potatoes had my head spinnin’. The freaking bacon crumbles had my soul spankin’.

I’m not even going to go into what the lemon and parmesan did to me. This blog is rated G.

Okay PG.

Fiiiiiiine PG-13.

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Thank you so much, Erin! Now, will you teach me how to do my eyebrows like yours?

Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks with Bacon and Parmesan:

What it took for 4 (as a side) or 2 (as a main):

* 1 head garlic
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 4 slices bacon, cut in half
* 1 pound fingerling potatoes, cut in half or quarters
* 3 leeks, dark greens trimmed away and the lights cut in half lengthwise, and then into 3-inch chunks (and rinsed)
* 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
* 2 – 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Take the garlic and slice the end off. Place the head in a small piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the oil over the exposed cloves, and add a teeny pinch of salt. Wrap the foil around the head and stick it in oven to roast for 30 to 35 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Once cooled, squeeze the cloves from their skins and give them a rough chop.

Heat a sauté pan over medium. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is nice and crispy. Set the bacon aside on some paper towels to drain, and discard all but 2 Tbs. of the bacon fat.

Raise the heat just a little and add the potatoes to the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and let them start to brown all over, about 6 minutes. Then add the leeks and the chopped roasted garlic. Continue to sauté everything until the leeks are soft and starting to slightly caramelize, and the potatoes have cooked through, another 8 to 10 minutes.

Off the heat, add the parmesan and lemon juice. Toss to combine. Taste it. Need anything? Yes it does. The bacon! Crumble that bacon, dudes.

Serve the dish family style with the crumbled bacon. Heaaaavenly day.

* feel free to omit the bacon to make it vegetarian!

* feel free to add more bacon to make it awesomer.

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22 Responses to Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks with Bacon and Parmesan

  1. claire @ the realistic nutritionist February 15, 2013 at 9:09 am #
    Um yes. I want this. AMAZING. And hahaha i have a friend i want to punch in the kneecaps too!
  2. Carly @ Snack Therapy February 15, 2013 at 9:54 am #
    OMG. I don't have cool eyebrows (they're actually fur balls right now) or an awesome boutique, but will you still be my best friend and feed me every single day?
  3. Heather @ Heather's Dish February 15, 2013 at 9:55 am #
    Leeks are kind of my life. They're like the butter of the vegetable world. Or something like that.
  4. a farmer in the dell February 15, 2013 at 10:13 am #
    Leeks, potatoes and bacon are my three best friends. Yum
  5. Jen @ Savory Simple February 15, 2013 at 11:04 am #
    I love everything about this!
  6. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl February 15, 2013 at 11:08 am #
    I want to punch myself in the kneecaps right now this is so good and you're so funny I can't stand it.
  7. brandi February 15, 2013 at 12:42 pm #
    leeks are so ridiculously good. i mostly just want to slather them in bacon and be done with the cooking, every day.
  8. Sisan February 15, 2013 at 1:00 pm #
    ...just made this yummy dish for brunch...as a side to over easy peppered eggs , red Anjou pears and age/mango juice...perfect!...love the flavor of the lemon juice with the veggies. Thanks for a quick and easy alternative to fried potatoes and onions!
    • Bev Weidner February 15, 2013 at 1:06 pm #
      Oh I'm so glad to hear you loved it!
  9. Kari@Loaves n Dishes February 15, 2013 at 1:29 pm #
    What a great friend to share this with you, and her boutique is super cool! I could eat this all kinds of ways...for breakfast, lunch or dinner. With a fried egg on top, maybe with a steak I could go on, but it's not my blog.
  10. Kathryn February 15, 2013 at 1:52 pm #
    Totally, totally want this.
  11. Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking February 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm #
    Oh my goodness gracious, YES. Totally mouthwatering!
  12. Cara February 15, 2013 at 4:54 pm #
    You couldn't have designed a meal more up my alley if you tried.
  13. Cassie | Bake Your Day February 15, 2013 at 7:27 pm #
    Want, want, want and want some more.
  14. Sheila February 16, 2013 at 10:55 pm #
    I kind of forget about leeks until someone puts out a fabuloso recipe like this one! drool.
  15. Kiran @ KiranTarun.com February 16, 2013 at 11:51 pm #
    My kind of comfort food. Yum!
  16. Sues February 17, 2013 at 10:39 pm #
    I love that this would totally work for any meal, and now I want to make it my Monday morning brunch!
  17. Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking} February 18, 2013 at 7:47 pm #
    This dish includes everything a girl needs to be happy. :)
  18. Erin Austen Abbott February 24, 2013 at 9:07 am #
    Bev!! I hadn't seen that you posted this and I'm glad I hadn't because this makes the best birthday present to see it today!!! I LOVE your writing and I truly want to punch YOU in the kneecaps because you are the coolest. Funny about my eyebrows because the grass is always greener, right?? I'm so glad you like my little creation and that your readers like it too. I made this last night with grilled salmon. Great combo. You rule!! Thanks for the post!!
  19. Louise February 28, 2013 at 10:49 am #
    Got to love roast vegetables - they are the best. I've never thought about adding cheese though. Can't wait to try it out! Thanks for the inspiration. :-D
  20. Luann Walter September 16, 2016 at 5:47 pm #
    I'm only at the garlic roasting part, but if it's anything like as good as it smells right now it will be Amazing!!!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. 101 Potato Recipes for Every Occasion - Healty Magazine - June 30, 2021 […] bacon and parmesan work amazingly well with potatoes, and this recipe is no exception. Use any skin-on cooked potatoes you already have, to get that amazing crispiness […]

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