Many of you may have heard about leek patties, leek fritters or keftes de prasa, especially if you have been to, or are from Greece, Turkey, Romania and other Mediterranean countries. They are a typical holiday food served at the jewish new year festive dinner, especially amongst the sephardic jews. So today I hope to inspire you with my holiday leek patties and hope you try them for a holiday or any day.
I tried these patties at my husbands family dinner when we first met, and loved them immediately. In his family it is a huge production to make them, as they always make huge quantities and everyone always seems to fight for them until nothing is left. Although this recipe is a bit more work then normal, I promise it is totally worth it. Also you can make a big batch and freeze them for another day.
About Leeks
Leeks are now in season, which is why this is a great dish to make for fall time. As they say “eat seasonally” to get the most nutrients out of your food. Leeks are planted in late spring, early summer and grow to be harvested in fall – starting now.
If you have not tried leeks, they are part of the allium family, a cousin to the onion with a milder, sweeter taste. Leeks are tall and long with white color bottoms and green tops, almost like an enlarged scallion onion.
Leeks are low in calories and contain a high amount of antioxidants and a host of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Some vitamins include pyridoxine, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, C, K and E. As well as many minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and selenium. All great for helping blood and heart health, as well as optimal overall health.
How to prep Leeks?
Leeks are surprisingly dirty. They grow in the ground and get dirt inside and outside of them. It is important to clean them very well so you do not eat dirt!
To start you remove the bottoms and the dark green part of them. We only use the white, and light green parts as these have the most flavor, is and is the most tender and less fibrous part. To clean I like to slice them in half lengthwise. Once they are open you can see the layers of leek and wash them over running water. you can usually get all the dirt out in between layers like this, however if they are from the farm they may need to be soaked in water to get all the dirt out.
How to eat Leeks?
Once they are cut and clean you can cook them in several ways. Leeks are great in soups, baked in quiches, sauteed in a side dish or fried like we will enjoy today.
The holiday leek patties that I make are vegetarian, however many people prepare them in many different ways. Some add ground beef to them, while others add potato. I personally like them “just leek” and serve them with an aioli sauce or this great dressing by Tessamae Habanero Ranch, its creamy with a kick of spice and it is super clean and healthy (whole 30 approved).
Hope you try them out and love them as much as I do. I know they are a little more work then normal, which is why they are a holiday food (made on special occasions) but they are so delicious I know you l will love them. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients
6-8 stalks of leek
2 eggs
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Avocado oil for frying
Directions
For the first part of this recipe, you can do this in advance or now. I like to cut clean and cook the leeks when I buy them from the market. Then I freeze them and they are ready to mix and fry up. If you do this step in advance you can freeze the cooked leeks and keep them ready to make these patties any time.
Once leek is very clean, cut into 1 inch pieces.
In order to speed things up I use my instant pot for this part as it stems/cooks the leek super fast. If you are using the instant pot, place 1 cup of water at the bottom, and place trivet inside. Then place steamer in pot and put the cut leek inside. If it doesn’t all fit then you can do it in two batches. Press pressure cook button and set for 3 min.
If you do not have an instant pot you will need a pot with water and you will boil the leek until soft. This takes about 20-30 min. Aside from time, the difference between cooking in the instant pot and on the stove is the water. Meaning once the leeks are ready you will need to drain and squeeze all the water from the boiled leeks. The leeks from instant pot are steamed, so they do not have water in them.
In a food processor, place cooled, and drained leeks inside. Chop until you have a mushy consistency. Remove from food processor into a bowl.
If you do not have a food processor, you can use an immersion blender stick to chop up the leek, however you must make sure leek is broken up and there are no big pieces.
Add eggs, tapioca flour, and spices to mushed leeks and mix well.
Form small to medium size patties and place in frying pan with hot oil.
Once golden in color on both sides they are ready. Serve hot on their own or with a dipping sauce of your choice.
