Here’s another ways to enjoy leeks. Most of the leeks are braised and around a quarter of them are fried crisp as a topping tossed with parmesan, lemon zest and crushed toasted pine nuts……It can’t help to be anything but delicious. I found some great new cheeses at my local Safeway. They sell one called Italiano that is an American made cheese that tasted like taleggio and they also are selling a crescenza stracchino cheese that is very good. I thought the stracchino would go very well with the leeks so this is a sort of twist on a leek au gratin recipe. I do fine that leeks differ greatly on size so servings will differ. Also sometimes you just want a little side and sometimes you want more. I think two leeks will make around 4 servings. This dish would also be delicious served over toasted bread, pasta or a potato. If I was about to re-do the recipe I would have cut the leeks into coin shapes because the leeks would be easier to eat that way….(but I did leek coins last week and didn’t want to repeat the same shape)

Ingredients for around 4 portions

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 leeks – root end removed, thought greens removed, cleaned well……You can cut them in any shape that you feel like. Coins or little planks would be best…..Save about 1/5 of the leeks for frying crisp…(use the leeks that don’t hold their shape as well to fry)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 lemon zest and 1/2 the lemon (you can use 1/2 of what you already zested) to braise with the leeks

1/4 cup water (maybe a little more depending on size of your leeks…(mine where very small)

sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup parmesan cheese – shredded

3 Tablespoons roasted pinenuts

non stick spray

canola oil for frying leek crisps

8 oz stracchino cheese

optional – 1 dried Calabrian chili – crushed over the top

Directions

Fill a fry pan about half an inch high with canola oil on between medium and medium high heat. When oil is hot add around 1/5th of the leeks for frying crisp. Fry the leeks up till crisp. (timing will differ…mine took 7 minutes) Use a draining rack or a sheet lined with paper towels for draining. Set to the side.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

Add oil to fry pan and put on medium high heat.Add leeks cut side down. Sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper. Cook till lightly brown on the bottom (about three minutes). Add thyme, 1/2 lemon cut side down, 1/4 cup water and cover. Lower heat to simmer. Cook about 10 minutes.

Spray casserole dish with non stick spray.

Add the leeks and stracchino cheese cut into chunks over the leeks.

Put in oven till hot (10-15 minutes)

Mix together the lemon zest, parmesan, crushed pine nuts and the crispy leeks for topping the cheesy leeks. Add the optional crushed Calabrian chili if desired or add black pepper to taste. (I don’t think this dish needs anymore salt but you can add some if you like)

Enjoy!

I needed to use my cucumbers so this is what I came up for today. It’s light and tasty. It’s something most people would like. Serving size will differ due to different sized vegetables and different sized appetites. For me this made around 6 servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

4 large cucumbers – peeled and seeds removed. Sliced on the thin side.

1 red onion – cut in half sliced thin

1 fennel bulb – core removed, sliced thin and use the fronds as an herb.

1 lb heirloom tomatoes – cut into bite sized peices. I did small wedges

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 dried Calabrian chili (or substitute a pinch of crushed red pepper)

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 Tablespoon capers – drained

1/2 cup fresh basil – torn

Directions

Combine everything in a large bowl (cucumbers, red onion, fennel, tomatoes, oil, vinegar, salt, peppers, fennel seeds, capers, basil)

Serve

Would be delicious with crusty hot bread.

Enjoy!

I got some blueberries from Fry’s Grocery…..YUK they are so sour. Maybe I can make them into salsa so I did. I do note that you might have to play slightly with the recipe to adjust to what spice level and sweetness that you desire. This recipe makes about 16 ounces of salsa. So depending on how you are serving it I’m guessing around 4 servings. I think it would be delicious with many grilled meats and also tasty over certain cheeses.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 apple – peeled – core removed – diced

11 oz blueberries

1 onion slice extra thin and chop up

2 habanero peppers (wear gloves and a mask….maybe eye goggles too) cut in half and remove core

3 garlic cloves in skin (don’t remove skin)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground achiote

1 teaspoon dried oregano

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and fine stems) chopped

1 teaspoon dried mint (or 1 Tablespoon fresh mint chopped)

1 lime (just the fresh squeezed juice)

1/2 cup water

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

optional – 1 Tablespoon honey or to taste

Directions

Set your oven on broil.

On sheet pans spread place the onions, garlic, blueberries, and habanero. You want to broil them till they appear to be bunt. You might want to wear a mask because the fumes from the habanero will make you cough.

When the garlic cloves are cool enough to handle you can peel or pop them out of their skins. Throw out the skins.

Blend together the blueberries, onions, habaneros, garlic, salt, achiote, oregano, clove, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, lime juice, water, vinegar, oil. Slightly blend in the apple till it is still chunky. Add cilantro and mint. Taste it and decide if it needs honey or not.

Besides nachos with cheese or sour cream….I think this salsa would be good with many grilled meats and I also think it would make a good crepe filling.

Enjoy!

I had some leeks and I wanted to do something new with them that I have never done before. I found Jose Andres’s recipe from Food & Wine Magazine called, Leeks two ways with wild mushrooms. The thing that was new and different is that I learned that a leek puree can be made from the dark green leaves that I normally trim off. My leek green puree I added vegetable soup base instead of salt to add a little flavor…….My leek puree came out delicious but not silky smooth like the way Jose Andres’s leek puree came out and I cooked mine up twice as long to get tender…….I do chalk that up to maybe my blender isn’t as good and also I didn’t have farm fresh produce like the chef gets. The other thing that I had to change the most from Jose Andres’s recipe is that I can not boil my leek slices without them falling apart. I think maybe that Jose Andres’s produce is the best and is also farm fresh. The leeks I get seem ok but I’m sure they are much drier and just won’t hold together so I remedy this by doing mine in the oven in a covered pan to get soft. I removed the foil that covered mine and browned them slightly. I also didn’t have dried black trumpet mushrooms so I used whatever pack I had in my refrigerator (I used 4oz. pack of champignon mushrooms) Serving size is around one leek a person. I used one pack of leeks and mine were small so for me this only made 2 servings.

Ingredients for around two servings

4 oz mushrooms – cleaned and (cut in half if a round shape)

1/2 cup hot water

1 teaspoon vegetable soup base

1 pack leeks (2-3 leeks) – dark green parts cut off totally cleans and chop up the dark green parts. The white part gets cut in 1/3 inch slices

1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

sea salt to taste

2 thyme sprigs

1/4 Tablespoon olive oil (this is a guesstimated amount since I don’t measure what I spray)

1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Tablespoon of mint leaves – torn

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F

In a small sauce pan of simmering water add the leek greens and cook for around three minutes and then drain. (RESERVE LIQUID) Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter, add the soup base and leek greens. Cook another minute or two. Blend this up with maybe a tablespoon of water till as smooth as you can get it,

The leek slices go in a pan or baking sheet with walls. Pour some of the reserved leek liquid till about half way cup the leeks. Add the thyme sprigs.) Season with salt and pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in small chunks. Cover the pan and place on a middle rack for 15 minutes.

Get another baking sheet and place the mushrooms on it. Add the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of butter in chunks. Spray lightly with oil. Keep in oven till cooked and starting to crisp. (timing will differ…in my oven my mushrooms took 12 minutes on the middle rack) Season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Your leeks by now are done. I took mine slightly further and removed the foil covering them and returned the mushrooms to the lower rack. By now they’ve absorbed the liquid so I added more of the reserved leek water. I left mine in for 20-30 minutes more.

Mix together a tablespoon of white wine vinegar with a tablespoon or two of olive oil to top everything with.

Serve when ready.

Puree, leek slices, mushrooms, sprinkle on the oil mixed with vinegar and top the mushrooms with small pieces of mint.

A special THANKS to Jose Andres for his FORKING AMAZING recipe and to Food & Wine Magazine so I could come up with what I got here.

This recipe is a variation of Cauliflower Piccata by Hetty McKinnon’s by The New York Times. I changed a few things as I was going along.. I roasted the garbanzos with the cauliflower instead of just adding them from the can. I cut the amount of butter in half because I thought I had enough. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of flour to give the sauce some body. Those were the changes I made. Serving size is hard to judge. For me this made 6 side servings. But if you want bigger servings than me it will only make 4 servings. It also depends on the size of your cauliflower too.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 cauliflower – cut into florets

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (this is approximate and is for the cauliflower/chick peas and the frying of the shallots)

sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 (15 ounce) can chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed three times

1 shallot – minced

3 garlic cloves ground to paste

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon flour

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (feel free to add 2 more Tablespoons if desired)

2 Tablespoons capers – drained

zest of one lemon

juice of 1/2 a lemon (thinly slice the other half of the lemon)

1/4 cup parsley leaves – chopped for finishing

Directions

Turn the oven to 425 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets on a sheet pan mixed with the drained chick peas. Spray them well with the olive oil and season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Roast till golden and brown. Timing will differ….25-45 minutes. Remove when done.

Mix the flour with the vegetable stock and set to the side.

In a medium fry pan add a tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat. When hot add the shallots and stir as needed. After about a minute add the garlic and stir. As soon as you smell the garlic (less than a minute) add the vegetable stock (mixed with 1/2 teaspoon flour) and let it reduce by half. Turn down to low and add the butter, capers, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season to taste.

Serve and finish with lemon slices and parsley.

ENJOY!

A special THANKS to Hetty McKinnon and The New York Times for a great Recipe so I can do what I did!