Smart and tasty western vegetarian food, which is neither in salad form nor dairy and carbohydrate heavy, is one hell of a challenge, and even if I cannot lay claim to the creation of this dish, which belongs to Martha Stewart, I certainly can be proud of the way in which I have used it, for to serve it in the style of a tagliatelle and combine it with black olive tapenade is quite a delicious achievement, but only while leeks are in season, between October & March.
Moreover, not only is it vegetarian but vegan too, and sensationally simple to execute, as I have shown you below, but I cannot stress enough the importance of making this dish only while leeks are in season, or else they will be terribly stringy.
Ingredients
YIELD: 4 PORTIONS
- 4 large (i.e. fat) or 6 slim leeks
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil of choice
- 1.5 cups freshly squeezed orange Juice, or the one from Raw Pressery
- 1¼ cups vegetable stock (1 cube of brand Knorr dissolved in 500ml hot water, and then measure out 1¼ cups)
- Thyme leaves from around 4 sprigs of thyme
Method
First and foremost, cut of the green stalks from the leeks, leaving you with only the main body of the leek as shown above (IMAGE 1). Then begin preheating the oven at 190°C.
Then slice the leeks lengthways done the middle, keeping the root on (STEP 1). Heat the oil over low heat in a large frying pan, carefully slice the hairy parts off the roots and then lay the leeks side by side in the frying pan and cook until lightly browned on the side facing down (STEP 2). Then turn them over (STEP 3) …
… sprinkle with thyme leaves (STEP 4), pour over the stock and orange juice (STEP 5), bring the liquid to a boil, cover with a lid and place on the middle tray of the oven and let cook for exactly 30 mins (STEP 6).
Then take the pan out of the oven, remove the leeks from the liquid (STEP 7) and boil the liquid down to a glaze, whisking every couple of minutes (STEP 8), until desired consistency (IMAGE 9). Once the leeks have cooled, remove each layer and shape them as one would a serving of tagliatelle. (STEP 10)
Black Olive Tapenade
YIELD: 8 PORTIONS
- 200g black pitted olives
- 1 tablespoon drained capers and rinsed
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- Juice of 1 large lime
- 5 tablespoons (75ml) olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil in the smallest container of food processor (the part that is called the masala grinder) (STEP 1) and process until coarse (STEP 2). Then little by little add the oil (STEP 3) and process until smooth (IMAGE 4).
To Finish the Dish
Preheat the oven to 180°C, place the tagliatelle bundles of leeks in a baking dish & drizzle with orange glaze (STEP 1) and place on middle shelf of oven for 10 mins approx, until heated through. Then lift onto serving plate (STEP 2), drizzle around the orange glaze (STEP 3) and crown with a quenelle (see a Youtube video of how to do this) of black olive tapenade (STEP 4).
