Mushroom and leek orzotto

I have been in a fizz of pedantry. Why call a dish made with pearl barley a risotto. It isn’t a risotto, it is an orzotto, thanks to Wiki for sorting that one out. Risotto is made with rice. The italian for pearl barley is orzo (and hence why orzo pasta is so named as it has the same shape). And then – orzotto.

Now I have got over the nomenclature, I have made this delicious dish, using mushrooms from a mushroom kit and some leeks and thyme from the garden. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 60g butter (2x30g)
  • 1 leek, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 250g mushrooms. cut into large pieces.
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme (or use rosemary)
  • black pepper
  • salt
  • 300g pearl barley
  • 150ml white wine
  • 1000ml stock (low salt if possible)
  • 50g grated parmesan
  • 2 tbsp mascarpone – optional
  • squeeze of lemon juice – optional

METHOD:

  • Lightly toast the barley in a large pan, be very careful not to burn. This step is optional, but adds a lovely toasted flavour to the final dish. 
  • In a large saucepan, melt half the butter, and add the leeks and garlic, frying until soft.
  • Add the mushrooms and herbs, and season with pepper. Continue to fry for another five minutes. Keep stirring, so nothing sticks. Don’t add salt until the end, because the stock and the parmesan will alter the saltiness. 
  • Add the rest of the butter, and then the toasted barley. Cook for a minute and then pour in the glass of wine, and cook for another three minutes, so the barley absorbs the wine. 
  • Add a ladleful of stock. I used beef stock, other stocks also work. I also added a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, and cook and stir until the broth is almost absorbed, before adding the next ladleful. Continue in this way, stirring and simmering gently, and adding the stock a bit at a time. Keep going until all of the stock is added. The barley should be tender to the bite, and you may need to add another little bit of boiling water or stock until it is to your liking. 
  • When you are ready, add the grated parmesan, and taste to see if you need to add any salt. You can also add the optional mascarpone or a squeeze of lemon juice. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving. 

Leek and celery soup

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Anna. The soup is much better than she led me to believe, a delicate pale green with a smooth consistency. The dominant flavour is of celery. It is very useful for using up all the celery that we end up with after recipes that ask for just one or two stems. This version is from Delia Smith’s Vegetarian Collection.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 350g Celery stalks, trimmed and finely chopped
  • 25g butter
  • 110g potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
  • White sections of 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
  • 1 pint stock
  • 1/4 tsp celery seeds
  • 150ml single cream
  • 150ml milk
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat.
  • Add the chopped celery, potatoes and leeks, and stir. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes
  • Add the stock and celery seeds, and a little salt, and simmer very gently for a further 20 minutes.
  • Puree the soup by blending it, then add the cream and milk, and season to taste.

If you have a few celery leaves, chop them finely as a garnish, before serving with hot buttered brown toast.

Quick and easy carrot and leek soup

I’ve got bags of carrots in the freezer, and I’m experimenting again. I also made a very peculiar soup with pickled beetroot and sour cream that I don’t think I will try again. This was so quick and easy, and there are at least six servings in there. It is better made with a chicken stock. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 30g butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 leek, finely chopped – do not include any coarse leaves
  • around 500g carrots, grated or finely chopped
  • 1 litre + of chicken stock or similar
  • around 150ml plain yoghurt, unsweetened
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chives

METHOD:

  • Gently fry the onion and leek in the butter. Cover the pan and let them sweat for around 3 minutes
  • Add a good pinch of salt and the grated carrots, stir together, and cook for another 5 minutes
  • Add the hot stock, and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes
  • When the vegetables are tender and cooked through, use a soup wand to blend the soup, and to blend in the yoghurt. 
  • Stir through the chopped chives, and add salt and pepper as desired. 

Serve with some good rye bread, or other wholesome brown bread. 

Leeks and carrots cooked in olive oil

This is a lovely lemony dish, good as a side-serving with sausages and mash. It could be served at room temperature with bread for a light lunch. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g leeks, sliced
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, cut in half lengthways then thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp basmati rice
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 240 ml hot water
  • 1 tsp sugar, or date syrup
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • In a wide heavy frying-pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the onions and carrots for 3 minutes or so. Then add the leeks and rice, and stir to combine. 
  • Add the hot water, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper, and stir again. 
  • Cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for around 20 minutes. Set aside to cool with the lid on. 

This is good garnished with chopped parsley. 

 

Salmon and mash

Our fridge went on the blink, so we are making our way through a selection of ingredients that need eaten up. At the same time, we have got a lot of vegetables, mostly home-grown. Tonight’s triumph sorted out the massive bit of smoked salmon, a jar of capers and a lemon that needed used, plus some of the potatoes. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g potatoes (a variety good for mashing)
  • 500g sliced leeks
  • 250g shredded cabbage
  • 125g butter
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp capers
  • 500g smoked salmon (or a mixture of salmon, prawns and scallops)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chopped parsley

METHOD:

  • Peel the potatoes, and boil in salted water for 15 minutes until cooked. Drain when cooked. 
  • Meanwhile chop the leeks and boil in salted water for 10 minutes. 
  • After around 5 minutes, add the shredded cabbage to the leeks, so that the cabbage cooks as well, and is ready at the same time. 
  • Melt half the butter in a pan, and roughly mask the potatoes. Add the cabbage and leeks, salt and pepper. 
  • Quickly fry any raw shellfish in the rest of the butter, if you are using these. Add the lemon juice, capers and the salmon, and season with salt and pepper, heat until warm. 
  • Serve each scoop of mashed potato with a scoop of the salmon, garnished with chopped parsley

Leek and Yoghurt soup with dried mint

This is totally delicious, much more than you’d think. I made this tonight, because of a constellation of ingredients in my fridge that inspired me to try. The trick with the egg and yoghurt really works for keeping the soup smooth. I cut this down from a recipe in Moro. 

INGREDIENTS;

  • 25g butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large leeks
  • 1/2 tsp Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber) or paprika
  • 1/2 tsp dried miint
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp plain flour
  • 150ml greek yoghurt
  • 250ml vegetable or chicken stock
  • 20g/person caramelised butter
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Chop the leeks: slice them in half lengthways, rinse and slice finely. 
  • Heat the olive oil and butter together until the butter starts to foam, and then fry the leeks over a low heat for ten minutes. 
  • Add the chilli and dried mint, cover and continue to cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes, checking regularly to ensure that the leeks don’t stick or burn. 
  • Meanwhile, mix the egg yolk with the flour, to a smooth paste, and then beat in the yoghurt and stock. I used a soup wand to do this. 
  • When the leeks are cooked, sweet and soft, pour on the yoghurt and stock, and heat gently, do not allow to boil. Keep stirring as the soup thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
  • To make browned butter, put around 20g per person in a small saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat. The white milk solids will sink to the bottom. Keep cooking until the milk solids start to turn a gentle brown. Remove from the heat. 
  • Pour a little browned butter into each bowl before serving.

Leek, yoghurt and potato soup

This is a twist on a classic combination, created by substituting ingredients from the fridge. We have storms this week, with a high risk of no food deliveries onto the island, and I didn’t want to use the last of the milk to make this soup, so I used Greek yogurt instead. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 large leek
  • 1 potato, diced
  • 1/2 an onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic (optional)
  • 25g butter
  • 300 ml hot marigold stock
  • 200 ml yogurt
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp dry sherry

METHOD:

  • Clean the leek, and chop finely; start by cutting lengthways into 4, then slicing. 
  • In a largish pan, melt the butter, and add the leek, onion, potato and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook on a very low heat for around 10 minutes or more.
  • Add the yoghurt and the stock, and bring back to a simmer. Simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes, so that the vegetables are very soft. 
  • Use a soup wand or blender to make a very smooth soup. Add the sherry, and check the seasoning. 
  • You could garnish with chopped herbs, but it was delicious without. 

I served this with homemade oatcakes. 

 

Braised eggs with leeks, lemon and zahtar

We are about to head off to a family gathering, and so tonight’s supper was composed of items that needed to be eaten. This included a very chunky home-grown leek and some fresh local eggs. This served 3

INGREDIENTS:

  • 30g butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large leeks, about 500g, sliced into 1/2 cm slices
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped or 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 300ml marigold stock or other simple stock
  • 200g baby spinach
  • 6 large eggs
  • 90g feta cheese
  • 1 tbsp zahtar spice mix
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Melt the butter into the olive oil in a small braising pan which has a lid that fits well. 
  • When the butter starts to foam, add the chopped leeks and cook over a medium heat for 3 minutes or so, until the leeks soften. Season with a little salt and pepper while the leeks are cooking.
  • Add the cumin, lemon and stock, and boil rapidly for 5 minutes or so to reduce the liquid.
  • Add the spinach, and cover, cook for a minute until the spinach has wilted right down. At this point, you can cool the mixture down and put it in the fridge for later if you wish. I froze half of it and used the other half for the two of us, and only used 2 eggs.
  • Use a spoon to make nests for the eggs in the mixture. Break the eggs into these depressions. Sprinkle crumbled feta over the top. Cover with the lid, and braise for 4 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are runny. (I wonder if crowdie would work). 
  • Sprinkle with Zahtar spice mix, and then serve immediately, with fresh bread. 

 

Leeks in a lemon and tomato sauce

I still have some home-grown leeks and carrots from the garden, trying to eat them up before the weather totally trashes them. I also have a brand new Turkish recipe book to try, and so far, so good. It has a great index by ingredient, an informative forward describing the different culinary regions within Turkey, and it is massive. I’m thinking of adding it to the favourite book list. 

It is called ‘The Turkish Cookbook’ by Musa Dagdeviren.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 600g leeks, sliced (about 3 large leeks)
  • 150g carrot, diced (about 1 carrot)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp red bell pepper paste (from Turkishop)
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • juice of half a lemon or 2 tbsp grape vinegar
  • 500ml boiling water
  • 40 – 60g rice

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat
  • Add the chopped leeks, diced carrot, tomato paste, pepper paste, sugar and salt, and cook for around five minutes. 
  • Add the boiling water, lemon juice, and rice, turn the heat down low and cover the pan. Simmer for around 20 to 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked. 

This works well on its own, as a light supper or lunch. It is also glorious with goat’s cheese and brown bread. 

Ham and leeks in a cheese sauce

This is a good quick supper, easy and tasty. I scored some cheap ham at the co-op this afternoon. Top tip – if you want to eat cheaply and feel good about stopping food waste, Sunday afternoons at the co-op is peak bargain time.

After we ate this, we reflected that we could have snuck in a layer or two of lasagne as well.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3-4 leeks
  • approx 4 slices of cooked ham, chopped
  • 40g butter
  • 40g flour
  • salt and pepper
  • 150ml of cooking liquid from the leeks
  • 300ml milk
  • nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
  • 100g grated cheese
  • breadcrumbs

METHOD

  • Prepare the leeks, cut them into 1 cm slices and cook in boiling water for around 7 minutes.
  • Drain the leeks and reserve the cooking liquid.
  • Put the leeks into the bottom of a gratin dish, and cover with a layer of ham.
  • Fry the flour in the butter, for around a minute, and then add the liquid to make a smooth sauce, and simmer for a couple of minutes.
  • Add half the cheese, along with the mustard and a grating of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the cheese is all melted into the sauce
  • Pour the sauce over the ham and leeks, then top with the rest of the cheese and then the breadcrumbs
  • Cook for 10 minutes under a moderately hot grill, until the topping is nicely browned.