Day 33: March 26, 2015 - Leeks with Lemon and Flour Sauce - Πράσα με Σάλτσα Λεμονιού και Αλεύρι

The Cretans are known for many things, including their food.  One of the recipes that we tried today came from a cookbook all about Cretan food.  It is called "Cretan Cooking" by Maria and Nikos Psilakis.  The authors refer to the Cretan diet as "The most wholesome cuisine in the Mediterranean."  As we read through the recipes, there were some that sounded like what Yiayia Maria used to make, and since she was from Crete, this makes sense.  Yiayia made dishes that combined ingredients that typically did not sound good together, but they worked beautifully, and the final products were memorable.  This dish is one that sounded interesting, and, true to form, tasted amazing when finished.

Leeks in lemon and flour sauce is an easy recipe, even though it takes some time to cook.  We wanted to know what the lemon and flour sauce would become, if it would be creamy or if it would be lemony, and this was a great way to find out!  And, having cooked many times with a traditional avgolemono sauce (egg and lemon), a monastery style Lenten avgolemono (tahini and lemon), and with just lemon and oil, we were curious.  Best of all, we were right -- this was a slightly creamy, lemony sauce on sauteed leeks with a hint of dill that really "worked" for us.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 kilo leeks, cleaned, chopped
1/2 cup oil
1 cup chopped dill (could use fennel)
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBSP flour
juice of 1-2 lemons

In the past, we have talked about cleaning leeks after they are cut.  This is to assure that all the dirt particles are removed from between the layers.  Chop the leeks, or cut them into slices so you get these pretty little circles.  Then, wash them well under running water, trying to separate some of the layers to remove all the dirt.

Heat the oil in the pot (or fry pan would work).  Add the leeks and fry them.  They will take on a little colour, but you do not want to lose all of that beautiful green and white.

Add the salt and pepper and the dill.  If you are using fennel, chop the fronds and the white stalks.  Make sure that all the ingredients are coated with the oil and seasonings.

Next, add 2 cups of water to the pot.  The amount of water should just cover the leeks.  You don't want to make this too soupy, but you want enough water to make a sauce.  Cover the pot.  Simmer this for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, the leeks and the dill will be soft and tender, and the mixture will be slightly boiling.  Dissolve the flour into the lemon juice.  Start with the juice of one lemon, dilute the flour and then, add more lemon juice as you need.

Once the flour and lemon juice make a thin paste, pour that into the leek mixture and mix well.  The leek mixture will turn very cloudy.  Cook this for 10 to 15 minutes to cook out the flour and allow it to fully dissolve in all the liquid.

After the 10 or 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow this to sit for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.  That allows the sauce to set a bit, and with one more stir of the pot, serve this delightful treat.  It is very good eaten with a crusty bread or with rice.  Now, you can experience food like Yiayia Maria used to make, and you can understand how Yiayia's cooking turned us all into lovers of good food!

"A dream is a movement of the mind while the body is at rest. A phantasy is an illusion of the eyes when the intellect is asleep. A phantasy is an ecstasy of the mind when the body is awake. A phantasy is the appearance of something which does not exist in reality."

St. John of Climacus (From the Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 3, Section 26)
Source of quote: 

http://www.carmelitepriory.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/TheLadderofDivineAscent.pdf