Hello Foodlovers - it has been a while since I've been on here and I must check in more often. I hope you are all still cooking up a storm and your meals aren't quite as groundhog day as mine seem to be again. Currently I have waaaaayy too many leeks in the garden and I really don't cook with them often so I'm not sure why I plant so many

Found one recipe on here for "Feed a Crowd Smoked Chicken Pie" which I may try tonight as I have all the ingredients by some miracle. However, I'll need to do a couple of leek recipes a week to get through my stash. Does anyone have any great recipes they can recommend please? Maybe that will encourage me to try a few new dishes again (as that doesn't happen often now)...

This is one of my standby dishes in the leek season. It is easy to make and really delicious.

Beef, Leek and Vinegar Stew

3 large leeks in thick slices
2 tab olive oil
700g stewing beef in large chunks - shin, cross cut blade, shoulder
1 tsp salt
pepper
4 tab balsamic vinegar
750 ml water

Brown beef in oil, add leeks and stir 5 min. Add salt and pepper.

Add vinegar and stir to deglaze, gradually add 500 ml water. Cover and simmer about 3 hours until the meat is very tender. Add more water if necessary.

Leek & Eggplant with currants and olives


1 large leek (or 2 small) thickly sliced, green parts as well as white
1 large eggplant in 2 - 3 cm chunks, skin on
125 ml good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c currants
1/2 c black olives
salt and pepper
parsley to serve

Combine all ingredients except parsley in a large wide pan, cover and cook over a low heat for about an hour or until vegetables are very tender. Check liquid occasionally and add a little water if necessary. The mixture when cooked should be luscious but not too wet. Add chopped parsley just before serving. Serve warm or cool, keeps well in the fridge.

Mussels with Saffron & Leeks


2 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
4 dozen mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1 cup dry white wine
8 fresh parsley sprigs
10 saffron threads, crushed
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley


8 first course servings or 4 main course servings

Melt butter in heavy large deep pan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes.

Combine mussels, wine and parsley sprigs in large Dutch oven or stock pot. Cover and cook over high heat until mussels open, about 6 minutes. Using tongs, transfer mussels to large bowl, discarding any that do not open.

Strain mussel juices into pan containing leeks. Add saffron and cream to pan; boil until reduced to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes. Stir in chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Add mussels and any accumulated juices to pan. Stir over medium heat until heated through, about 2 minutes. (divide mussels among 4 bowls; pour sauce over).

Korean Pork & Leek Stew

serves 4

250g pork loin in bite sized pieces
30 ml vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tab gochujang chilli paste
1 tsp Korean chilli powder
90g potato, cubed
20g ginger root, in one piece, peeled
1 green chilli, sliced
1/2 leek, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
50g rocket or watercress, roughly chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds

Heat oil in large pan over high heat, brown pork and garlic, add gochujang and chilli powder, coat pork in spices. Add potato, ginger and chilli plus enough ater to cover. Bring to a boil and add leek, zucchini and sesame oil. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until meat is tender (10 - 30 min).

Remove from heat, add rocket/cress and mix. Discard ginger, garnish with sesame seeds,

I make a leek and potato galette. Basically it is short pastry (2.5 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 250g butter, 1/2 cup chilled butter) rested for 30 mins then rolled into a large oval. Make a mixture of 150 grams crumbled Feta, a crushed garlic clove, a couple of tablespoons of dill, some chopped sundried tomato, salt and pepper. put aside.

Chop a leek finely, lightly soften in some olive oil.

Slice 2 large large potatoes with a mandolin, or by knife if you can get them thin enough.

On your pastry oval spread the cream, feta mixture, place the mandolin sliced potato over this, leaving about 2.5cm border all around. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Scatter over the softened leeks.

Bring up the edges of the pastry over the filling. Brush with egg wash and bake for about 35 - 40 mins at 200c.

I serve with a pickle or relish.


Also.....leek and bacon risotto is nice.

I make these quite often, you can freeze the cooked rosti and just reheat. A nice savoury brunch served with eggs. But they'd be good for a side dish to simple grilled chicken with a sauce too. [potatoesnz.co.nz]

TPANDAV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Leek & Eggplant with currants and olives
>
>
> 1 large leek (or 2 small) thickly sliced, green
> parts as well as white
> 1 large eggplant in 2 - 3 cm chunks, skin on
> 125 ml good quality extra virgin olive oil
> 1/2 c currants
> 1/2 c black olives
> salt and pepper
> parsley to serve
>
> Combine all ingredients except parsley in a large
> wide pan, cover and cook over a low heat for about
> an hour or until vegetables are very tender.
> Check liquid occasionally and add a little water
> if necessary. The mixture when cooked should be
> luscious but not too wet. Add chopped parsley
> just before serving. Serve warm or cool, keeps
> well in the fridge.

We absolutely love this recipe. There have been a couple of times when the aubergine on offer didn’t look good enough and I made this with just the leeks. It still tasted delicious. Make plenty, it keeps well.

Thank you all - some nice sounding options in there to try out. Think I'll start with the rosti as I also have an oversupply of eggs at the moment. That sounds like a great dish to feed the teenagers while school holidays are on.

Last night I made the Feed a Crowd Smoked Chicken pie [www.foodlovers.co.nz] and the filling was really tasty. I did add some mushrooms as some needed using up and I just did a pot pie topping rather than using pastry. Clean plates from three of us but Mr Fussy picked out all the leeks and mushrooms.

With the inclement weather we are currently experiencing, here is a warming and heart-warming soup to cheer you up.

Crème du Barry Soup

Madame du Barry was a courtesan, a high class prostitute who later became the last mistress of Louis XV.

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 leeks, white parts only, chopped
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
1 medium all-purpose potato, cubed
6 cups chicken Stock
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup low-fat milk
4 leaves fresh parsley

Combine the oil and butter in a large saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and stirring frequently, allow them cook slowly for 10 minutes. Do not brown.

Stir in the cauliflower, potatoes, and stock. Season with the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender. Remove form the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Transfer to a blender or a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If the soup is too thick, thin with the milk.

Pour an equal portion into each of 4 warm bowls. Lay a parsley leaf in the center.