Ingredients
| 2 large leeks | |
| 2 tablespoons butter or oil | |
| 250g lamb mince | |
| 1 tablespoon currants | |
| 2 tablespoons pinenuts | |
| 1 teaspoon dried dill (or a handful of fresh dill instead) | |
| ½ teaspoon cinnamon | |
| a pinch allspice | |
| ½ teaspoon salt | |
| ⅓ cup risotto rice | |
| 300ml chicken stock | |
| 1 tablespoon tamarind paste | |
| 1 teaspoon sugar | |
| yoghurt & dill sauce, to serve | |
| flatbreads, to serve | |
| YOGHURT & DILL SAUCE | |
| 1 cup thick Greek-style yoghurt | |
| 1 clove garlic, minced | |
| 1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill | |
| grated zest and juice of ½ lemon |
Leeks make lovely wrappers for fillings. For this it is easiest to use leeks that have a reasonable length of white (although a bit of green is also OK to use here). Wider leeks mean that you can make slightly larger parcels. I stuffed these with Middle Eastern flavourings; if fresh dill is available it’s good to add here, but parsley or mint is a great addition, too. I often find that I have some extra blanched leeks left over – I keep these for adding to a soup or frying for the base of another meal later in the week.
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Instructions
| 1. | Trim the tougher green parts of the leek and reserve for another use. Cut off the root end and discard. |
| 2. | Cut a slit into the leeks going to the centre (don’t cut all the way through) and separate into leaves – you will have rectangular strips. |
| 3. | Set aside the very inner core that is too thin for stuffing. |
| 4. | Blanch the outer leaves in boiling salted water for 1 minute, then drain and plunge into cold water. This helps to make the leeks more pliable. |
| 5. | Finely slice the inner core of the leeks. |
| 6. | Heat a frying pan, add the butter, the sliced leeks and a sprinkle of salt and cook slowly until softened, about 4-5 minutes. |
| 7. | Set aside in a bowl to cool. Then add the lamb, currants, pinenuts, dill, cinnamon, allspice, salt and risotto rice to the bowl. Mix well. |
| 8. | Take a rectangle of blanched leek and put 2 tablespoons of the filling into one end corner. |
| 9. | Fold the corner to make a triangle, keep folding, then trim the edges. |
| 10. | Stack into a large, wide baking dish, seam-side down. |
| 11. | Repeat with the remaining mix and pack the triangles in close to each other. |
| 12. | When the leaves get too narrow you can put two together with a little overlap. |
| 13. | Alternatively you can shape the leeks into a roll. |
| 14. | Line the filling along the base of the leek, roll up into a cylinder shape. |
| 15. | Heat the oven to 180°C. |
| 16. | Heat the stock with the tamarind and sugar and pour over the stuffed leeks. |
| 17. | Cover with a lid or a piece of foil and bake for 45 minutes. |
| 18. | Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced to make a tangy sauce. |
| 19. | Serve hot or at room temperature. Spoon over the yoghurt and dill sauce and serve with flatbreads. |
| 20. | YOGHURT & DILL SAUCE |
| 21. | Combine all the ingredients and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jess Hemmings