In Season: leeks

BY VIRGINIA WINDER

Witt chef tutor Denis Duthie grew up hating leeks, but then he discovered the baby version of the Welsh emblem.

"My mother used to make them in white sauce with these big hunks of leeks," he says. "But I like these baby leeks. I love the flavour of them. They are completely different from the big ones."

Denis says the tender young things need to be used within a few days of buying them.

"They don't keep very well."

If the baby leeks aren't immediately available from your fruit and vegetable shop, you can order them. Denis gets his through The Whopping Big Carrot in New Plymouth. This week, he uses the tiddlers in a leek and lemon side dish and as a pizza topping. He uses the mature vege in a soup that can either be a broth or creamy.

The side dish is a combination of delicate leeks, zesty lemon, a roux sauce and sweet roasted garlic.

He tops all this with crunchy bacon bits and toasted pinenuts. Ever mindful of the growing number of vegetarians in our midst, Denis says it would be simple to leave out the bacon and replace it with toasted bread crumbs.

"When I was an apprentice, you would be lucky to get a packet of stuffed cabbage. Now we have chefs who specialise in vegetarian cooking."

For the citrus lift to this side dish, Denis says people can either use a lemon zester or slice off strips with a potato peeler and then cut them into thin ribbons. "Chuck them into cold water and they will curl."

The garlic embues the whole dish with a sweet flavour. "I love roasted garlic because it doesn't repeat on you. It's mild and you can eat it without discomfort."

Simply cut off the top of a bulb, brush it with olive oil and pop it on a tray in a medium oven for 10 minutes. Cool a little, then simply turn the bulb upside down and squeeze out the garlic.

"It all just flows out of the cloves."

When making this side dish, make sure the leeks are still slightly crunchy and then serve with the sauce.

"I would use it as an accompaniment to meat. It would be good with a steak."

The pizza, packed high with leeks, is mouthwatering. Too often, a pizza layered with toppings can come out a bit sloppy, the base a bit damp. But Denis has the answer: pre-cook the homemade base. He advises lightly brushing the shaped dough with olive oil and then popping it into the oven until just coloured.

"Then I take it out and brush it with olive oil, put everything on it and put it back in the oven. I had a pizza parlour years ago in Ponsonby Road and that's how I learned to do pizzas."

For the soup, Denis firsts roasts chicken with the skin on so it doesn't become too dried out. People can also use leftover roast chicken. What he does recommend is using Agria potatoes, which cook quickly.

"They are my favourite. They've got nice colour, nice flavour. They are versatile - you can use them for mashing, frying, boiling or chips."

Once again, Denis thinks of the vegetarian option for this soup. The chicken stock can be replaced by vegetable stock and the chicken pieces by tofu. People aiming for a low- cholesterol diet can leave out the cream and serve the soup as a broth.

"I think it tastes a bit nicer with the cream in."

Leek and Cheese Pizza

Serves 4

Base

1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

3/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 Tbsp olive oil

Topping

2 medium leeks, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced

25g butter

Olive oil

1 1/4 cups mozzarella-style cheese, grated

2-3 medium tomatoes, sliced

100g feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup red capsicum, sliced

1/2 cup yellow capsicum, sliced

2 baby leeks, steamed for 5 minutes (optional)

1/ Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Set aside in a warm place until the mixture begins to froth.

2/ Place the flour in a bowl, making a hollow in the middle. Pour in the yeast mixture and half the remaining warm water.

3/ Mix the dough to form a ball. Add in the remaining water as you need it to help form the ball of dough (don't use all the water if you don't need to).

4/ Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave sitting in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume.

5/ Preheat oven to 210[Degree]. Lightly flour a flat work surface and knead the dough for 2 minutes and shape into a round ball. With your hands or a rolling pin, shape the dough into a circle to fit a 25cm pizza stone or tray.

6/ Brush lightly with olive oil and bake in preheated oven until just coloured.

7/ Meanwhile, gently, saute the sliced leeks in butter for 5 minutes, taking care not to overcook (burnt leeks are bitter) and set aside.

8/ Brush the top of the precooked pizza base with olive oil. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of mozzarella. Place the sliced tomato evenly over the cheese.

9/ Sprinkle over the feta and sliced red and yellow capsicums.

10/ Spoon over the sauteed leeks. Place the two baby leeks criss- crossed on one side of the pizza.

11/ Sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella cheese.

12/ Put back in 210[Degree] oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 200[Degree] and bake until crisp and golden - about 20 minutes. Serve with a crunchy salad and mixed greens.

Leek and Chicken Soup

Serves 4 to 6

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large leek, finely sliced

30g butter

5 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian version)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup cooked chicken pieces (omit for vegetarian version)

1/2 cup cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Croutons (optional)

Fresh sprigs thyme

1/ Cook onion, leek and garlic in the butter gently for 5 minutes.

2/ Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

3/ Add the diced potato and gently simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is just tender.

4/ Add the chicken pieces, cream and seasonings to taste.

5/ Serve immediately, garnished with croutons and fresh sprigs of thyme. If you prefer, you can leave out the cream and serve as a broth.

Lemon and Garlic Leeks

Serves 6

24 baby leeks, washed

25g butter

2 Tbsp plain flour

1 1/2 cups milk

2 whole heads of garlic, tops trimmed off and roasted

Juice and zest of one lemon

4 slices prosciutto or bacon, grilled crisp

2 Tbsp pinenuts, toasted golden

1/ Trim the ends of the baby leeks. Steam the leeks for about 5 to 7 minutes until they are bright green, but slightly crunchy. Drain and keep warm.

2/ Melt the butter in a heavy bottom saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour to form a roux. Add a third of the milk and, over a low to medium heat, stir the sauce to form a thick, smooth paste.

3/ Add the remaining milk and continue to stir to form a thin, smooth, creamy sauce.

4/ Squeeze in the pulp from one roasted head of garlic and stir into mixture with the lemon juice.

5/ Split the leeks in half lengthways. Spoon a little sauce over your serving platter. Place the warm leeks on top. Spoon remaining sauce over leeks and then squeeze the remaining head of roasted garlic on this.

6/ Finish off by sprinkling lemon zest, pinenuts and crumbled grilled prosciutto over top. Serve with main course.

FOOD FACT

Leeks belong to the Allium family of vegetables, along with garlic and onions. The World's Healthiest Foods website says a high intake of Allium vegetables has been shown to reduce total cholesterol and LDL, or bad cholesterol levels, while at the same time raising HDL, or good cholesterol levels. "This can be very important for preventing the development or progression of the blood vessel plaques that occur in atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease," the site says.

- © Fairfax NZ News