Springing a Leek
On Thursday night we went out for my birthday supper at Olivio Carne, the sister to what is pretty much my favourite restaurant in London (Olivio near Victoria station) and I had pasta for the first time in nearly two months. My new rule is that food like that has to be worth it. And it was. A beautiful wild boar pappardelle. I also had plenty of Kate’s duck ragù just to help her out.
I’ve been wondering how to recreate one of my favourite dishes, ravioli con burro e salvia without pasta while I’ve been avoiding carbs. My new rules are that it’s fine to occasionally eat what you want, and to not make sugar and wheat part of my daily diet. There seemed, after thinking about it, little point in trying to recreate ravioli, so here’s a new dish based on those flavours.
Leek is nature’s cannelloni. And with this, instead of the traditional sage infused butter, a creamy sauce seemed a good idea. And to keep it dairy and wheat free meant almond milk and tapioca starch, so it’s also gluten free. And vegan. And paleo. And Whole 30. It also dances the can-can for you while singing the Nessun Dorma. This should win awards for the most inclusive dish in the world. Unless you are allergic to nuts. Leave them out if you are. Unless you like risk.
It’s quite straightforward to make, once you get everything together. Just try not to spill double the amount of tapioca you need into the saucepan. This is very upsetting and can lead to a bit of a strop.
Ingredients for two people as a starter
For the filling:
420g roast butternut squash or pumpkin, diced
40g almonds, skin on, chopped a little
1 large clove of garlic, smashed
A few young thyme sprigs
1tbsp shiitake mushroom powder (optional)
Pinch of chilli flakes
A big squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper
Olive oil
For the sauce:
1 leek, light green part, pushed into tubes
A large handful of sage leaves, shredded
3tbsp Olive oil
Thin bits of middle of the leek, finely sliced
300ml Almond milk
1 1/2tbsp Tapioca starch
Salt
Shredded sage leaves, chopped toasted almonds and dried borage flowers to serve, if you have them on the shelf in a jar and keep wondering what to do with them.
Method
Roast the filling ingredients (apart from the lemon juice) at 200c for 25-30 mins, until soft and golden then leave to cool before adding the lemon juice and blitzing until smooth (but not too smooth) in a food processor then put in a bowl. Taste it and adjust the lemon juice and seasoning if necessary.
Cut the dark green and white parts off the leek and use for stock. Or, do what I did and forget about them in the back of the fridge then throw them away.
Push out the inner tubes of the leek, leaving you with about six of the large outer tubes. Slice the inner ones then sauté them until soft in good olive oil, with sage and then season and transfer to a bowl. Add the almond milk and tapioca to the pan, heat and whisk until you have an emulsion as thick as double cream. Add the leek and sage mixture and leave to infuse for ten minutes before removing the sage stalks and blitzing the sauce in the food processor. If you prefer, you can leave it unblitzed, but I prefer it smooth.
Stuff the leek tubes with the filling and cook gently in a little olive oil until soft. Turning occasionally and carefully. Chop some toasted almonds and get the sauce warmed.
Put the sauce on plates, top with the leek then sprinkle over the almonds, sage leaves and borage flowers if using. Blowtorch the leek if you’re feeling fancy. Finish with a drizzle of excellent olive oil and serve.
The Modern Husband 
One Response to “Springing a Leek”
DRIED borrage flowers!!! Excellent idea… to have them all year round! We are blessed with them growing wild all over the place here on Elba so we use them fresh usually. They are probably my favourite edible flowers 🙂