‘Tis the Season You can get both leeks and cauliflower any time of year because grocery stores source food from all over the country and world. But since they are cold-weather crops, they taste best–and are often more affordable–in the winter months.
Here are a couple easy meal ideas for these winter veggies.
Leek and Sun-Dried Tomato Protein Topper
Winter and spring, when fresh produce can be more limited and expensive, try supplementing meals with canned, dried and frozen veggies. For this quick dish, I used sun-dried tomatoes for color and some tomato nutrition since fresh tomatoes are generally not worth the money in winter.
Protein Options This topping is great on lots of different proteins, including vegetarian, e.g., white fish, salmon, pork chops, chicken breasts, slow-cooked white beans, eggs, etc. I served with brown rice topped with sweet and sour red cabbage for a little more vegetable content.
Servings The following amounts will make enough leek topping for 2-4 servings of protein.
Step 1: Reconstitute Tomatoes Place about 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl with a cup of hot or boiling water and allow to sit until softened. Slice vertically into thin strips and then horizontally to make small squares. Reserve soaking water if needed for leeks in the next step, or reserve for another use.
Step 2: Saute Leeks Warm 1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saute pan over medium heat until gently sizzling. Add about 4 cups leeks, both white and green parts, sliced about 1/4″ thick. Cook and stir fairly frequently until leeks are wilted and sweet tasting. If necessary to prevent burning or over-browning, add another tablespoon of butter or oil, add a little good broth, and/or cover with a lid.
Step 3: Combine Tomatoes and Leeks and Season Stir tomatoes into leeks and allow any water to evaporate. Season with salt and pepper and, if desired a teaspoon or two of dried leaf basil or Italian seasoning. Serve over protein of choice.
NOTES
Sun-Dried Tomatoes must be reconstituted before adding to a dish without a lot of liquid. Otherwise, they will be as hard as shoe leather! So just like the raisins in the earlier recipe for Pecan-Raisin Sauce, simply place tomatoes in a bowl with a cup of hot or boiling water. Let them sit while cooking the leeks and they will plump up but still be nicely chewy with lots of concentrated tomato flavor.
Leeks are part of the onion family. I find them to be sweeter and milder but they need to be treated differently than onions.
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ashing Leeks can be dirt traps, so be sure to slice in half vertically to start. Then fan the layers while washing, being sure to rinse between all the layers, especially where the green and white parts meet.
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Cooking Low and slow are the keys to successful leek cooking. Maybe it’s because they are sweeter and more tender, but they will easily burn if sauteed over high or medium high heat like onions. They also do best in a heavy-bottomed saute pan that doesn’t burn easily.
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Don’t Be In a Hurry Given the two facts above, it’s a good idea to give yourself 30 to 45 minutes to cook the leeks. Patience will be rewarded with subtly sweet and yummy leeks.
East Coast Cauliflower
I love roasted cauliflower and could probably eat it most nights, no problem. But part of Meal Making Transformation is having a few tricks up your sleeve to make sure you don’t get bored, since that’s a surefire way to fall off the healthy eating wagon. So I stock several spice blends that can quickly flavor roasted veggies.
Old Bay Seasoning pairs nicely with cauliflower, especially in soup featuring cauliflower, kale and yellow squash. But last night I just sprinkled about 1 tsp. over 1/2 head of cauliflower florets before roasting. (Of course I also tossed the florets with olive oil, salt and pepper as always when roasting veggies.)
I sprinkled on a little more seasoning at the table because cooking can reduce the flavor of spices. A squeeze of lime finished the dish perfectly.
BTW, I actually used Savory Spice’s version of Old Bay Seasoning, called Coastal Bay Seafood Seasoning which you can get here. Of course, you can also use on seafood, as the name suggests!
And I called this East Coast Cauliflower because, according to Wikipedia, Old Bay Seasoning originated back east and is regionally popular there, specifically in Maryland and Virginia.