The Leek Shall Inherit the Earth: Three Delicious Winter Recipes

The Leek Shall Inherit the Earth: Three Delicious Winter Recipes

And why not? It packs all the flavor of an onion, with enough subtlety and nuance to carry a dish as the main ingredient. Here are recipes for leeks with yogurt and dill, a Belgian leek soup laced with beer and creamed leeks topped with little feta pies

By Charlotte Druckman in the Wall Street Journal

I KEEP A RUNNING list of cookbooks I’d like to see written. It includes one from chef Rita Sodi dedicated solely to lasagna. Every time she puts a new version on the menu at her Greenwich Village restaurant I Sodi, I swear it’s better than the last. First came her Bolognese, then the artichoke, and the chestnut. But the one that messed with my head was the leek lasagna. I never would have guessed the wallflower of the allium family could hold its own as it did, and so beautifully, vying for attention with the béchamel and sheets of pasta.

Recipes

More than the other members of its genus—onions, shallots, garlic, chives and scallions—leeks have a vegetal quality. They’re larger than the rest, and milder; they warrant billing as a featured ingredient, not just a flavoring agent. They have the umami attributed to their cousin the onion, but their grassy sweetness and acidity set them apart. Their reputation has been tarnished by complaints of their being full of dirt and hard to clean. Yes, there is grit encased in their layers, but once you trim the fibrous dark-green stalk from the core and split the leek lengthwise, it’s easily rinsed under cold running water.

Aside from the usual applications—the potato-heavy Vichyssoise and chicken-based cock-a-leekie soups, or French leeks vinaigrette—I hadn’t given much time to leeks. Ms. Sodi’s lasagna switched on the light bulb. A few blocks from I Sodi at Via Carota, the restaurant she recently opened with her girlfriend, chef Jody Williams, there they were again, chilled, with pickled shallots and shavings of salty bottarga on top.

I recalled, too, a long history of leek use in Greece, so I reached out to Maria Elia, author of “Smashing Plates,” a new cookbook that provides a refreshing, creative and modern perspective on that country’s cuisine. She shared her take on Greek prasopita, a savory pie filled with leeks and feta. Ms. Elia chars the leeks on a griddle, then creams them like you would spinach, to make a bed for pan-fried parcels of filo-wrapped feta drizzled with honey.

Closer to home, I tapped the four Manhattan friends— Courtney Allison, Tina Carr, Caroline Laskow and Julie Peacock —who authored “The Soup Club Cookbook,” a chronicle of their monthly meal-sharing scheme. They offered a soul-warmer that might remind you of the French-onion classic, but has Belgian roots. Though enhanced by a potent beef broth, beer and Parmesan cheese, it’s as intense an expression of leek flavor as any I’ve tasted.

Finally, in Diana Henry ’s “A Change of Appetite,” I discovered a Middle Eastern approach that called for lots of garlic, cooling yogurt and the tart spice sumac. “Perhaps it’s because I’m Irish,” Ms. Henry responded when prodded for more leeky wisdom. “We were brought up to make the most of these good Northern vegetables.” And so she does. She recommends braising them in olive oil with ginger, cumin, saffron and raisins, or putting them in a quiche flavored with sharp, grainy mustard. She has so many ideas, in fact, I think she should write a whole cookbook on the subject.

Recipe 1 (Middle Eastern Leeks With Yogurt, Dill and Sumac):

Total Time: 25 minutes Serves: 4

• 6 leeks, trimmed, outer leaves discarded and light green and white parts cut into 1½-inch pieces and rinsed in a colander
• Juice from ½ small lemon
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ⅜ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves crushed with a pinch of kosher salt to form a paste
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill leaves
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• ⅛ teaspoon ground sumac

1. Place a steamer basket or colander in a large lidded pot filled partway with water. (Make sure water doesn’t touch bottom of steamer.) Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Place leeks in colander, cover and steam until completely tender, 6-8 minutes.

2. Transfer steamed leeks to a clean dish towel and gently pat dry. Immediately place leeks in a bowl and, while hot, stir in lemon juice and half of olive oil. Season with pepper and ⅛ teaspoon salt.

3. In another bowl, whisk yogurt, garlic, remaining oil, dill, mustard and remaining salt and pepper until combined. If desired, thin sauce by stirring in water, milk or buttermilk.

4. To serve, drizzle sauce over leeks. Garnish with sumac.

—Adapted from “A Change of Appetite” by Diana Henry

Recipe 2 (Creamed Charred Leeks With Filo Feta Parcels)

Total Time: 1¼ hours Serves: 4 as an appetizer or light lunch

For the leeks:

• 2 leeks, light-green/white parts cut in half lengthwise, keeping root intact to prevent them from falling apart, rinsed
• 1½ tablespoons olive oil
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1⅔ cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the filo parcels:

• 4 sheets frozen filo pastry, thawed
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 (2½-inch square, ¼-inch thick) pieces feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Make creamed leeks: Preheat a griddle or cast-iron pan over high heat. Drizzle leeks with ½ tablespoon oil. Place leeks on hot griddle and cook, flipping occasionally, until slightly charred, about 7 minutes. Remove leeks from heat and let cool. Cut cooled leeks into 1-inch lengths, discarding roots.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add scallions and garlic, and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes. Stir in cream and leeks until combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until leeks are tender, cream has reduced by ⅔ and consistency is similar to creamed spinach, 30-35 minutes. Stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Turn heat off and leave pan on stove, covered, to keep warm.

3. Make filo feta parcels: Lay thawed filo dough sheets in a stack on a dry work surface. Remove one sheet of dough and lay flat on surface. Cover remaining stack of filo dough with a layer of plastic wrap, then a damp towel. Working quickly, brush sheet of filo with melted better, then fold in half crosswise from bottom to top. Brush top layer again with melted better. Place 1 feta square at left end of filo, about 2 inches from edge of dough. Sprinkle feta with thyme leaves, if using. Fold left short end of filo over feta, then fold two long edges over top of feta. Roll filo-feta packet from left to right to form a neat parcel. Brush surface with melted butter. Repeat with remaining filo and feta.

4. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Once hot, fry feta-filo parcels until just golden, 2-3 minutes per side.

5. To serve, place parcels on top of creamed leaks, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately with a glass of ouzo!

—Adapted from Maria Elia

Recipe 3: (Leek Soup)

Active Time: 1 hour Total Time: 2 hours Serves: 2 as a main dish, 4 as an appetizer

• ¾ tablespoon olive oil
• ¾ tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5 leeks, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise, white and light green parts thinly sliced and rinsed in a colander
• 2½ cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup beer
• 1¼ carrots, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• ½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small sprig each of parsley, sage and thyme, tied with kitchen twine
• 1½ quarts beef or vegetable broth
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus 1 (2- to 3-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind

1. Heat oil and butter in a large lidded pot over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted, decrease heat to medium, add ⅛ teaspoon salt and leeks, stirring to coat. Cover and cook until soft and starting to turn translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove lid and sauté, stirring occasionally, until leeks begin to caramelize, 5-10 minutes more.

2. Add garlic and beer to pot, stirring until alcohol evaporates, about 1 minute. Add carrots, celery, bell peppers, bay leaf, ⅛ teaspoon salt and bundle of herbs. Add broth and bring to a boil.

3. Decrease heat to medium-low and simmer to allow flavors to meld, 40 minutes. Remove herb bundle and bay leaf from pot and discard. Season with pepper and remaining salt. (Soup can be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen up to 3 months. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and proceed with step 4.)

4. Add cheese rind and simmer at least 10 minutes. Remove rind and ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with grated cheese.

—Adapted from “The Soup Club Cookbook” by Courtney Allison, Tina Carr, Caroline Laskow and Julie Peacock

Last, here is a wiki link on leeks:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leek

And is one link on the purported health qualities of eating leeks:  http://www.healthyfoodcorner.com/13-properties-of-leek-which-are-beneficial-for-the-human-body/

Of course there are many other ways to cook or prepare leeks, too.