{"id":3980,"date":"2020-02-05T22:32:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T22:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/?p=3980"},"modified":"2020-10-30T16:33:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T16:33:06","slug":"recipe-braised-leeks-with-tomatoes-and-olives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/recipe-braised-leeks-with-tomatoes-and-olives\/","title":{"rendered":"Recipe:  Braised Leeks with Tomatoes and Olives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Leeks are a great cool-weather vegetable.\u00a0 They are members of the onion family but are milder and sweeter than regular onions.\u00a0 Because they are more tender and mild, however, they can burn more easily and therefor must be cooked more gently, generally on lower heats for longer times.\u00a0 While in this recipe they are quickly browned at medium high heat, they are then covered with a sauce to keep them from burning while they finish cooking.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Braised Leeks with Tomatoes and Olives<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b00707;\"><strong>Step 1 <span style=\"color: #b00707;\">Preheat Oven to 400 (F)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #b00707;\">Step 2\u00a0 Brown Leeks<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3983\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3983\" style=\"width: 341px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3983\" src=\"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Braised-Leeks-Tomatoes-Olives-2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"351\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Braised-Leeks-Tomatoes-Olives-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Braised-Leeks-Tomatoes-Olives-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Braised-Leeks-Tomatoes-Olives-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3983\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Browned leeks are a lovely golden color. (Note: Garlic should not be added until the leeks are removed from the pan, as directed in the recipe.\u00a0 My oops!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>1-2 Tbsp. olive oil<\/li>\n<li>6 leeks, white parts only, split in half lengthwise (reserve green parts for another use)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In a large, heavy bottomed oven proof skillet, warm oil over medium high heat. Add leeks, cut side down, in a single layer, with a little space between each. Cook just until browned (about 2-4 minutes) then flip and brown top sides, watching closely to avoid burning leeks.<\/p>\n<p>Remove browned leeks to a cutting board and, when slightly cooled, cut carefully with a serrated knife into 2\u201d lengths (because leeks can be very hard to cut after they are fully cooked and served on a plate.)<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #b00707;\">Step 3\u00a0 Low-Heat Saute Seasonings<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #b00707;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>1 tsp. olive oil<br \/>\n2 Tbsp. minced garlic (fresh or jarred)<br \/>\n\u00bc to \u00bd tsp. dried leaf thyme, to taste<\/p>\n<p>Reduce heat to low and pour 1 tsp. olive oil into same pan used to brown leeks.\u00a0 When warm, stir garlic and thyme into oil and saute gently until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #b00707;\">Step 4\u00a0 Make Sauce<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00bc cup red wine<\/li>\n<li>1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc to \u00bd cup halved black olives, preferably Nicoise but regular will also work<\/li>\n<li>4 bay leaves<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc tsp. sea salt, more or less to taste<\/li>\n<li>1\/8 to \u00bc tsp. freshly ground pepper, to taste (or a pinch of cayenne pepper)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stir wine, tomatoes, olives, bay leaves, salt and pepper into garlic and simmer 3-4 minutes. Nestle browned leeks into sauce and return to simmer, then place pan, uncovered, into preheated oven. Bake until leeks are fork tender and sauce thickens, about 25 minutes.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #b00707;\">Step 5\u00a0 Serve with Optional Garnish<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Grated Parmesan cheese<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remove bay leaves and serve, topped by Parmesan cheese, if desired. (Include serrated steak knives with tableware to more easily cut leeks if needed.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3985 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Leeks-with-roots-1-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Leeks-with-roots-1-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Leeks-with-roots-1.png 283w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #b80202;\"><strong>Notes:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pan Option<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An oven-proof skillet is called for to minimize dishes, but if you don\u2019t have one, the dish can be assembled and baked in a casserole dish.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Side Dish Ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because this vegetable dish is a little more involved than, say, steamed vegetables, be sure to pair it with lower-prep dishes, like grilled fish or shrimp, stir-fried tofu, or sauteed chicken breast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leeks are a great cool-weather vegetable.\u00a0 They are members of the onion family but are milder and sweeter than regular onions.\u00a0 Because they are more tender and mild, however, they can burn more easily and therefor must be cooked more gently, generally on lower heats for longer times.\u00a0 While in this recipe they are quickly &#8230; <a title=\"Recipe:  Braised Leeks with Tomatoes and Olives\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/recipe-braised-leeks-with-tomatoes-and-olives\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[733],"class_list":["post-3980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recipes","category-seasonal-eating","tag-braising","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3980"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5430,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3980\/revisions\/5430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}