Leeks in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Pırasa)

In Turkish cuisine, most "pırasa" dishes, originally praso from Greek, are attributed to Albanian Turks. Not only leeks feature predominantly in Albanian immigrants' dishes, but also they make, hands down, the best leek dishes. The Albanian börek (phyllo pastry) with leeks is just to die for. Although leeks have a milder flavor with a sweet touch than its relatives onions and garlic, for some it is still quite overwhelming. So in Turkey you either love them or not at all, a well known fact that seems to have inspired Baba Zula, a Turkish alternative music band, to compose a song called pırasa the lyrics of which goes: "There are two different kinds of people in this world: those who love leeks, and those who don't.... those who don't know how to love leeks and then those who can love them" This is the recipe that turned me into one of those who know how to enjoy leeks!


for 4 people
4 regular leeks or 2 King leeks, really hard top dark green parts discarded, washed well and chopped in 1/3 inch rounds
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped in rounds or half moons
1/4 cup or a handful of rice
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
2/3 - 1 cup hot water, to cover the leeks
1 tsp sugar
Salt

-Heat olive oil in a pot on medium and add onions, cook until soft but NOT brown. This is an olive oil dish and having browned onions in olive oil dishes changes the taste completely.
-Add carrots and sugar, stir for 3 more minutes
-Add leeks and stir for a couple of minutes until wilted
-Add rice and cook for a minute.
-Add lemon juice, salt and water to barely cover the leeks.
-Cover and cook on low heat until rice is cooked, approximately 20-25 minutes.
-Let the leeks cool down to room temperature in its own pot, lid closed.
-Transfer to a serving plate and serve at room temperature or cold.
-In Turkey 1=2 tbsp olive oils is scattered on top of the leeks on the serving plate to have a shinier look.

Usually when leeks are served, sliced lemons would be available on the table for extra drops of fresh lemon juice on top. It brings up the flavors beautifully. Eat with a nice loaf of bread. I love eating them mostly for lunch with yogurt on the side.

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