Tag: Leeks

Eat Your Greens – 2

  • This is a lovely recipe for vegetables to eat with a roast dinner or breaded pork.
  • It is a variation on Eat Your Greens – 1.
  • In this recipe cavolo nero is used rather than white cabbage.
  • As this takes longer to cook – it is part steamed first.
  • The amounts are fairly fluid – does not matter to much.

Ingredients

    • 100g of cavolo nero

    • 1 large or 2 medium sized leek(s)

    • 120g of fresh spinach

    • 2 tablespoons of butter

    • 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Method

    • Cut the cavolo nero into fine pieces.

    • Steam this for around 10 minutes.

    • Cut the leek(s) into discs and then halve these.

    • Melt the butter in a large saucepan. (a wok style is good).

    • Stir fry the cavolo nero and leeks gently for around 5 – 8 minutes.

    • Stirring all the while – so they do not burn.

    • Add in the spinach and stir.

    • Cook for around 2 minutes.

    • Sprinkle with the salt and serve.

  • Option 
  • Kale could be used – this has not been tested.

Eat Your Greens – 1

  • This is a lovely recipe for vegetables to eat with a roast dinner or breaded pork.
  • It is a recipe that you have to make at the last minute – unlike a lot of Polish recipes for vegetables or salads.
  • The amounts are fairly fluid – does not matter too much.

Ingredients

  • ½ a sweetheart cabbage or white cabbage
  • 1 large or 2 medium sized leek(s)
  • 120g of fresh spinach
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Method

  • Shred the cabbage into fine pieces.
  • Cut the leek(s) into discs and then halve these.
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan. (a wok style is good).
  • Stir fry the cabbage and leeks gently for around 5 – 8 minutes.
  • Stirring all the while – so they do not burn.
  • Add in the spinach and stir.
  • Cook for around 2 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with the salt and serve.

 

Leeks & Apples

  • This recipe comes after a slight error when I was making leek & apple soup for the first time.
  • I left the kitchen whilst cooling the leeks and the apples in the apple juice.
  • These cooked so that most of the liquid evaporated (good that I did not burn the leeks).
  • I knew that I could not rescue the soup at this stage and would have to start again so I could have good instructions.
  • I tasted what I had and it was delicious.
  • It tasted great, hot with hot roast meats and also cold with cold meats and Polish sausage.
  • You could ask your “testers” what this is? – they might reply “rhubarb”!

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 leeks – the white part
  • 2 eating apples – peeled and cored
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
  • 1 litre of apple juice – this can be from a carton of concentrate
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

METHOD

  • Chop the leeks into circles and then halve these.
  • Melt the butter in a pan and lightly cook the leeks – do not brown.
  • Cube the apples into small pieces and add these to the leeks and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the marjoram.
  • Add the apple juice and simmer until the leeks are soft and you have evaporated the majority of the liquid.
  • Season with the salt and pepper.
  • *
  • Serve either hot or cold.

Bavarian china

Leek & Apple Soup

  • I saw this recipe in this book and wondered how it would come out.
  • I adapted the recipe slightly including adding extra apples to the base of the soup – not just the serving part.
  • It was delicious – a sweet warm soup – lovely.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 leeks – the white part
  • 2 eating apples – peeled and cored
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
  • 1 litre of apple juice – this can be from a carton of concentrate
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • *
  • To serve
  • 2 eating apples with red skins – cored and cut into thin slices.
  • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds – toasted (optional)

METHOD

  • Chop the leeks into circles and then halve these.
  • Melt the butter in a pan and lightly cook the leeks – do not brown.
  • Cube the apple into small pieces and add these to the leeks and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the marjoram.
  • Add the apple juice and simmer for around 15 minutes until the leeks are soft.
  • Season with the salt and pepper.
  • *
  • Toast the pumpkin seeds in a hot frying pan.
  • *
  • Serve with the apple slices on top and then the pumpkin seeds.

Here in a Meakin vintage serving dish.

Fish Soup with Leek & Potato

INGREDIENTS

  • 300 – 350g of white fish (cod, haddock or pollock)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 leeks – the white part
  • 3 medium potatoes (floury type are best)
  • 2 tablespoons of butter  – to fry the onions
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 grains of allspice
  • 4 grains of black pepper
  • 125ml soured cream
  • Salt & Pepper to taste – if needed.
  • *
  • Large handful of chopped flat leaved parsley to serve.

Method

  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Lightly fry in the butter but do not brown.
  • Chop the leek into small rings and add to the onions and butter.
  • Stir and lightly fry – again do not brown.
  • Add the stock, bay leaves, allspice and black pepper.
  • Bring to the boil and then lower the heat.
  • Start to simmer gently.
  • Chop the potatoes into small pieces and add to the soup.
  • Boil gently for around 15 minutes until the potatoes are nearly cooked.
  • Add the fish and cook for about 10 minutes.
  • Break up the fish into small pieces.
  • Season if needed.
  • Stir in the soured cream.
  • Add chopped parsley leaves to serve.

20240709_143425

Royal Doulton Burgundy soup plate

One of my testers thought this was the best ever!

Carrot & Leek Soup

  • This recipe makes two different types of soup – two ways –  chunky and creamed.
  • A light vegetable stock is the basis of this soup.

Ingredients

  • 4 large carrots
  • 2-3 leeks
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • *
  • Several tablespoonfuls of soured cream for the creamed soup

Method

  • Chop the leeks into small slices.
  • Fry them lightly in the butter.
  • Peel and chop the carrots.
  • Peel and chop the potatoes into small chunks.
  • Add then all to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil.
  • Simmer till the vegetable are soft.
  • *
  • Check the seasoning and serve.

Creamy version

  • Purée the vegetables – a stick blender is good for this.
  • Add the soured cream and serve.
  • Served in:
  • Royal Stafford – Blossom Time
  • Midwinter – Spanish Garden

Carrot Leek & Apple Salad

I was sorting out my recipe box notes and cuttings when I came across this recipe from one of my cousins in Białystok for a salad made from carrots, leeks and apples.

I had not noted down whether the leeks were just sliced or if they were blanched as well so I tried both ways and both salads were super.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 carrots
  • 1 leek
  • 1- 2 eating apples – Braeburns are good
  • Juice of a lemon
  • 2-3 tablespoons of Mayonnaise
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method – 1

  • Grate the carrots using a coarse grater.
  • Thinly slice the leeks and cut the rings into halve or quarters.
  • Core the apple and chop into small chunks.
  • Pore the lemon juice over the salad.
  • Add the mayonnaise and mix well.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Method – 2

  • As above except for the leeks.
  • Put the cut leeks into hot water and simmer for a few minutes.
  • Allow the leeks to cool.
  • Drain the leeks and pat dry with kitchen roll or a clean tea towel.
  • Mix all the ingredients together.

Pierogi with Leeks & Peas

  • Well over a year ago when on a trip to Gdańsk, in one restaurant I saw on the menu pierogi (Polish filled pasta) which had leeks, peas and soured cream as a filling.
  • Although I did not try these, I thought they sounded good and tried out this  mixture as a filling for buckwheat pancakes.
  • At last I have had the time to try this out as a filling for pierogi.
  • I adjusted the filling I had made for the pancakes by using cream cheese (or twaróg or yoghurt cheese) rather than soured cream.

Filling

  • 2 leeks – chopped
  • 50 – 75g frozen peas
  • 2-3 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 -3 tablespoons of cream cheese, twaróg or yoghurt cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

  • Using a deep large frying pan with a lid (a glass one is best), melt the butter and gently cook the leeks to soften them but not brown.
  • Add the frozen peas and cover with the lid and cook for a few minutes.
  • Stir the mixture and continue to heat without the lid to drive off excess liquid.
  • Purée most of the mixture – keeping some of the peas whole.
  • Stir in the cream cheese (twaróg or yoghurt cheese).
  • Season to taste.

Ingredients – Dough

  • 250g pasta flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
  • 150ml water
  • 1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg yolk

Method – Dough

  • In a jug or bowl mix together the water, oil and the yolk.
  • Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
  • Pour in the liquid from the jug and initially use a knife to mix this into the flour and then use your hands to mix the liquid and flour to get a ball of dough.

 

  • Turn this out onto a floured board and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth ball.
  • Cover and leave to rest for about ½ an hour.
  • *
  • Cut the dough into half.
  • Prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean cotton or linen tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
  • On a floured board roll out the dough a half at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
  • Cut out circles using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
  • The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.
  • Around a half tablespoon of filling is put on  each circle and then they are folded over and the edges pinched together to make a good seal.
  • You learn from experience how much filling to put in as too much will make it hard to seal them and if not properly sealed they will burst on boiling.  Do not worry if you have a few mishaps – it still happens – even with experience – it is hard to salvage one that has gone wrong – just accept that there will be a few that you do not cook.
  • Place the sealed pierogi on prepared tray until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
  • *
  • To cook the pierogi, use a large pan of boiling water to which you have added some salt and a drizzle of oil.
  • Drop the pierogi in one by one and allow them to boil.  I usually do about 6 to 7 at a time.
  • As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 minutes and then remove them with a slotted or perforated spoon and put into a colander above a pan for a few seconds to drain and serve with melted butter.
  • Continue boiling batches in the same water.
  • If you want to make all the pierogi to serve together then you need to get a large oven proof dish.
  • Melt lots of butter in the dish.
  • Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
  • As you take out the cooked pierogi add them to the dish and coat them with the melted butter.
  • Keep on adding more as they cook.

Plate- Alfred Meakin – Midwinter – Spanish Garden 1960s

To Serve

  • These are good served just with the melted butter.
  • I also liked the gently refried ones, in the butter, the next day.

 

More Lovely Liver!

  • For many people  – liver is love it or loath it.
  • I think certainly for me and most Poles it is love it!
  • I have written about cooking liver in 2018.
  • I had some liver that I had got to make dinner last night.
  • I had cooked some leeks and peas, which I use as a filling for  buckwheat pancakes.
  • I also had a red pepper left and decided to combine them all.
  • It turned out really delicious
  • *
  • The amounts are not critical – depends on how many you are cooking this for.

Ingredients

  • Liver – whichever you like best
  • 2-3 leeks – chopped into rings
  • 100g of frozen peas
  • 1 red pepper – chopped
  • 2-3 tablespoons of soured cream.
  • Butter & sunflower oil for frying
  • Flour for dusting the liver
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  • You need two large deep frying pans to made this.
  • In one frying pan melt the butter and gently cook the leeks to soften them but not brown.
  • Add the frozen peas and cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes.
  • Stir the mixture and add the soured cream.

 

  • Dip the liver in flour.
  • In the other frying pan lightly  fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
  • Add the chopped peppers and simmer for a few minutes.
  • Mix the liver and peppers with the leek mixture.
  • Season to taste.
  • Serve immediately.

 

 

Delicious with boiled potatoes, creamy mashed potatoes, boiled rice, noodles or pasta such as tagliatelle or just with fresh bread.

 

 

 

 

Leek & Potato Soup

Caraway seeds give this soup a wonderful taste and make it very different from an English style leek & potato soup.

Ingredients

    • 3-4 leeks
    • 3 medium sized potatoes
    • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock (I use Marigold powder)
    • 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds.
    • Butter to fry leeks
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • *
    • Garnishes to serve – chopped chives or flat-leaved parsley.

Method

  • Put the stock into a large pan and bring to the  boil.
  • Peel the potatoes and chop into small rough cubes.
  • Add the potatoes to the stock.
  • Add the caraway seeds.
  • Leave to simmer.
  • Chop the leeks into circles and then quarter these.
  • Gently fry these in butter to soften but not to brown them.
  • Add the leeks to the stock and potatoes.
  • Put a lid on the pan.
  • Leave to cook on a medium simmer until the potatoes are soft.
  • *
  • Serve garnished with chopped chives or flat-leaved parsley.

 

Served in  Royal Doulton – Carnation – 1982 – 1998