• 3 pounds small leeks

Vinaigrette

• Salt, freshly ground pepper
• teaspoon Dijon mustard
• About 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
• About ½ cup olive oil

• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 handful chopped parsley

See instructions for paring and cleaning leeks. Use only the white and very light-green parts of the leeks. Tie them into bundles as for asparagus, plunge them into salted, boiling water, and cook, covered, at a simmer for about ten minutes or until they are only just done, the flesh offering but the slightest resistance to the point of a small sharp knife. Drain well before transferring to a serving platter, remove the strings, arrange the leeks, and spoon over the following vinaigrette: Mix the mustard with the salt and pepper, add the vinegar, stirring until the mustard is completely dissolved, mash in the egg yolks coarsely, without reducing them to a purée, stir in the oil and, finally, the finely chopped whites of the eggs and the parsley. Taste for seasoning. For the sake of a prettier presentation, half of the chopped whites and parsley may be mixed together and kept apart for sprinkling the surface. Serve tepid.