Time to fix those leeks

Back in the 1980s, as I reached over and pulled a leek from the supermarket pile, a little old thin haired lady screwed her face up and shrieked: "What the devil is that nasty thing!?!"  Leeks were exotic in still meat and potatoes America back then even though for centuries they'd been the kitchen mainstay on the British Isles. The history of what we call Great Britain is so entwined with leeks that a stalk is the ancient symbol of Wales, cockaleekie soup arguably the most famed traditional Scottish dish because people don't gag hearing about it as they do for haggis. An enterprising New England scholar wrote an entire book on the hidden influence of leeks on our lives. Did you know our word garlic comes from the early British word to describe that unfamiliar bulb familiarly as garleek? The other people who love leeks are French; they call them poireau and made them the centerpiece of their widely known and beloved Vichyoisse: leek and potato soup. I've posted the recipe in earlier years. This year's batch of recipes is all new so if you want more go back to September 2016.

And you do want to eat your leeks. These sophisticated sweet cousins of pungent onion and chive, leeks share many of the Allium family’s magical medicinal qualities. They are excellent caretakers of the cardiovascular system and help reduce the minor chronic inflammation that leads to rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. They contain iron. Best of all they bring a graceful almost ethereal sweetness to eggs, mushrooms, pork and vegetable soup.

SORRY THIS POST IS SHORT ON PHOTOS.

Chicken or Pork Cutlets with creamy leek sauce
serves 4

4 pork fillets or chicken cutlets, flattened with a rolling pin
1 egg, beaten in a bowl
1/2 c panko or matzah meal or breadcrumbs (the first two are lighter)
2 med leeks, washed
4 tbsp butter
5 tbsp olive oil
3 gherkin pickles, sliced into disks
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tbsp green peppercorns
1 tbsp salty brine from peppercorns or capers

Dip the pork or chicken cutlets into the beaten egg, then roll in the crumbs and be sure they are well coated. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a large shallow frying pan, over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter with 3 tbsp olive oil. Using tongs, put the cutlets in the pan and let them fry 3-4 minutes or until the crumbs are golden, then flip them and cook the other side. Keep the heat low enough so the crumbs don't burn and the meat has time to cook.  Drain on paper towels.

Halve the leeks lengthwise, then halve the halves and dice the leeks. In a saute´ pan, over low heat, melt 2 tbsp butter with 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the leeks and sauté stirring regularly about 5 minutes or until they have softened. Don't brown them. Add the gherkins, green peppercorns, cream and brine. Stir to blend and heat on low just until the sauce is warm. Serve over the cutlets.

Leek and Cauliflower Soup
serves 4
3 med leeks, washed
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 2 lb cauliflower, leaves removed
4 c vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1 sprig of fresh
Sea salt to your taste
1/3 c shredded gruyere cheese
2 tbsp fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
handful fresh arugula

Remove the coarse green leaves from the leeks and chop them. In a soup pot or deep pan, over medium heat melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the leeks, cover the pan and cook over med/low about 5 minutes or until the leeks are soft. Don't brown them. Slice up the cauliflower and add to the pot, stirring to blend. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, add bay leaves, thyme and salt. Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked (soft).

Blitz half the soup in a blender, add parsley to the other half and then slightly blitz it too so you get a chunky soup. Put it back in the pot, stir in the cheese and heat just until the cheese melts. Top with arugula and serve with garlic croutons.

Ham and Leek Fritatta with Dill
Lovely summer into fall flavors here
serves 4

1 lg leek, cleaned and sliced into thin rings
3 tbsp butter
1/2 c (1/4 lb) baked ham diced into bite sized pieces
6 jumbo or extra large fresh eggs
1/4 c milk
pinch red pepper flakes
1 tbsp pimentos (these are roasted red peppers so if you have your own just mince)
Sea salt to your taste and lots of freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/4 c shredded gruyere or mozzarella cheese

 Preheat the oven to 400º.
In a large ovenproof frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks, stirring to break them up and sauté until they're soft, maybe 4-5 minutes. Do not brown them! Add the ham and continue cooking another 5 minutes on med/low heat.

Meanwhile break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk in the milk, red pepper flakes, salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste. Whisk so the mixture is light and fluffy. Pour it into the pan, turning the pan so it spreads evenly. As the bottom starts to solidfy, add the pimentos. Turn the pan again so the uncooked egg oozes to the sides and underneath. Add the fresh dill. Cook until the only runny egg is in the center of the top, maybe a circle 3-4" in diameter.  Put the cheese into the runny egg and put the pan into the oven for 8-10 minutes until the fritatta has browned on top and set firmly. It should puff a bit too. Cut in wedges to serve.

Cockaleekie Soup
This meal in a bowl is the famous age-old Scottish dish, traditionally made to dress up a tough old bird. It features all the trappings of the land: chicken barley, leeks and dried fruit. The prunes (dried plums) add a rich sweetness.
serves 6

1 tbsp veg oil
1 med chicken, in pieces
3/4 lb smoked slab bacon, cut into small chunks
2 carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks
2 leeks, washed and cut into thick disks
1 tbsp white wine
2 bay leaves
5 thyme sprigs or 1 tbsp dried thyme
16 pitted prunes
1/3 c pearled barley
Salt and pepper to your taste

In a large heavy soup or sauce pan, heat the oil and fry the chicken pieces (in batches if necessary) until golden brown on all sides.(it will cook more later.) Remove from the pan and add the bacon, carrots, celery and the tougher tops of the leeks. Sauté until it all starts to brown, 5 minutes or so. Pour off excess fat. Add the wine to degrease and boil rapidly, scraping the pan bottom. Put the chicken pieces back in with thyme and bay leaves. Cover everything with cold water, slowly bring to a boil, lower to simmer and cook 40 minutes until the chicken is very tender. Remove the chicken from the pan and cool. Strain the soup into a clean pot, discarding everything but the carrot and celery. Cool and skim off any appearing fat.

Pull the meat off the chicken bones and add it to the clear broth.  Chop the cooked carrot and celery and add. Add the leeks, prunes and barley with 1/2 c hot water and simmer for 25 minutes, adding water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to serve.

 Asian Fried Chicken with Leeks
This is essentially a small plate/appetizer for 4.

2 lg boneless chicken thighs
½ tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp sake
Rice flour

peanut oil for deep frying

for the leek sauce:

½ c soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sake
1 ½ tbsp sugar
1 leek, chopped
½ tbsp vegetable oil
1 red chili, chopped

optional for serving: shredded lettuce

Pierce the chicken all over with a fork so it will absorb the seasoning. Mix the soy sauce with the sake and pour this over the chicken, making sure it seeps into the meat. Set aside while you prepare the leek sauce.

Combine the soy, vinegar, sake and sugar in a bowl. In a small sauté pan, heat the oil and lightly sauté the chopped leek until it’s soft. Pour in the soy sauce mixture and chopped red chili. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Coat the chicken with the rice flour, then deep-fry in peanut oil. For crispier chicken, raise it out of the oil from time to time. When fried to a golden brown, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Serve dressed with the leek sauce and optionally shredded lettuce.

Leek Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4

¼ cup olive oil

3 lg. garlic cloves, peeled and minced

8 Brussels sprouts, washed and quartered, put in the lemon juice until ready to use

1 lg. leek, washed and diced

24 baby Shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and coarsely chopped

2 tbsp. sunflower seeds

1 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1 tbsp. dried sage

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground coriander

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cracked black pepper

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes or ground cayenne if you like it spicy

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp. butter

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

1 qt. mushroom broth (it comes in a box at the supermarket)

2- 2 ½  cups vegetable broth or boiling water

¼ cup dry white wine

A small wedge of Parmesan cheese to grate for garnish

One lemon cut in wedges for garnish

½ cup chopped flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish

Bring the mushroom and vegetable broth or water to a boil in a large saucepan and keep it simmering as you work.  You can combine the broths, no problem.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium or small sauté pan. Toss in the mushroom caps and stems with a pinch of the sage and the sunflower seeds and brown to glistening. Turn off the heat. Stir in a pinch of salt.

In a medium or large heavy gauge casserole or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic, black pepper, celery seed, thyme, cumin, coriander, oregano and ½ the sage and stir to blend, flavoring the oil. Add the leeks and stir-fry until they are soft and translucent, five minutes at most. Add the rice, half the Brussels sprouts and all red pepper flakes or cayenne. Stir to coat the rice and sprouts with all the flavors in the pan. Add more olive oil if necessary to keep the rice from sticking and continue stirring until the rice is hot, maybe three minutes.

Pour in the wine, stirring vigorously. Pour in one cup of the hot broth, and continue stirring vigorously to be sure it gets under the rice and sprouts.

As the liquid gets absorbed but you still see a little left, add more broth, one cup at a time, continually stirring. After the third cup, toss in the remaining Brussels sprouts. After the fifth cup add the lemon juice and remaining sage. Add the mushrooms and sunflower seeds by turning the entire contents of the sauté pan into the risotto. Continue stirring.

Add the salt with the sixth cup.  As the liquid evaporates, taste to see if the rice is soft and creamy yet and if the seasonings are to your taste. Adjust seasonings, especially salt, pepper and sage.  If more liquid is needed to finish the rice to a creamy texture, add another ½ cup of broth or water, still stirring.  Cook until the liquid has evaporated and turn off the heat. The rice should have an earthy color and soft consistency.  The cooking time to get here is around 45 minutes.

Let the risotto sit on the stove and steam to a finish for a few minutes.  Serve garnished with freshly grated Parmesan or any dry and salty cheese, lemon wedges and chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley.