Jackson Boxer’s vegan recipe for poached leeks with pickled pear and hazelnuts

I have a great respect for the leek, which is possibly the most demanding vegetable in its need to be freshly cooked before consumption. A warm leek, fresh from the pot, is an ethereal, collapsing sigh of diaphanous veils, whereas cold it can all too easily become a slippery and almost slimy mess of hopelessness.

Poached leeks with pickled pear and hazelnuts

All the various elements can be made ahead of time except the leeks, which should be just warm from their poaching, and the dressing, which should be made at the last minute. Vegetable bouillon may seem a bit of a faff to make just to poach some leeks (if you prefer, simply cook them in two litres of seasoned water with a dash of white wine instead), but a good, light vegetable broth is a useful thing to have around, and a batch will keep happily in the fridge for three or four days. To toast nuts successfully, cook them on a tray in an even layer in a 170C (150C fan)/335F/gas 3½ oven for 15-20 minutes, which will toast them evenly to the core without scorching.

Prep 25 min
Soak and chill Overnight
Cook 1 hr, plus cooling
Serves 4

For the hazelnut miso
250g hazelnuts
40g white miso paste
25ml olive oil
5g flaky sea salt (about 1 tsp)

For the vegetable bouillon (optional; see recipe introduction)
1 medium carrot, peeled and quartered
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 medium shallot, peeled and left whole
2 garlic cloves, peeled
4 leek tops (from trimming the leeks below)
1 bay leaf
5 thyme sprigs
2 parsley sprigs
1 star anise
150 ml white wine
2 litres filtered water
40g flaky sea salt

For the pickled pears
2 conference pears
150ml white-wine vinegar
50g sugar

For the leeks
4 leeks , trimmed, roots removed and thoroughly cleaned, then cut in half across the middle
2 litres vegetable bouillon (see above and method)
Minced chives and chopped chervil, to finish (optional)

For the dressing
200g pear pickling liquor (see above and method)
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
5g flaky sea salt (about 1 tsp)
2g ground black pepper (about ½ tsp)
50g minced shallot
10g minced garlic
100g toasted hazelnuts , chopped

The day before, put the nuts in a container or bowl, add a litre of water and leave overnight to soften. Next day, strain the nuts, reserving the soaking liquid.

Put all the bouillon ingredients in a large pot (again, you can do this a day before), bring to a low simmer and cook gently on a medium heat for 25 minutes. Take off the heat, leave to rest and cool for four hours, then strain.

Peel, quarter and core the pears, then cut each quarter in half lengthways and put in a container, for which you have a lid. Put the vinegar, sugar and 75ml water in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, then pour the pickling liquor over the pears, cover and chill for 12 hours.

Put the drained nuts, miso, olive oil and salt in a food processor, dribble in just enough of the soaking liquid to lubricate, then blitz to a smooth, rich puree the consistency of mayonnaise; add a drop more liquid to loosen, if need be.

Submerge the leeks in the bouillon, bring it to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the leeks show only gentle resistance to the tip of a sharp knife. Take off the heat and leave to cool to room temperature for about half an hour.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a stainless-steel bowl, whisk the pickling liquor and oil to a smooth and coherent emulsion, then stir in all the other dressing ingredients.

Lift the just-warm leeks out of the poaching liquid and cut lengthways into quarters. Spoon some hazelnut miso on each plate, then arrange the leeks on top. Dot pieces of pickled pear between them, spoon over the dressing and garnish with minced chives and, if you’re lucky enough to have some, chopped chervil.

• Jackson Boxer is chef/owner of Brunswick House, Vesper and Dove, all in London, and culinary director of Cowley Manor near Cheltenham and the Henrietta in London