I had a bunch of leeks to use up, and I realized that on Sunday -- cooking for five adults and two children -- I had a somewhat thin menu for company, but I also wanted to cook ahead. (The rest of the menu was grilled tritip - which I sadly, hideously overcooked, but that's a story for another day -- sweet potato fries and a simple green salad with vinaigrette.) I looked around on the net, found some green bean and leek and potato salads, and a couple of hot bean and leek dishes, but nothing quite like what I had in mind, so I riffed.
This is what I came up with (sorry, no photo, I forgot!):
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds
5 leeks, white parts only, sliced into thin rounds
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons EVO
2 tablespoons sun dried tomato paste (I would have used sun dried tomatoes, but was out)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup curly parsley, finely chopped
Steam the green beans lightly and then dunk them in cold water. Drain.
In a small skillet, in heated EVO, over medium heat, saute the garlic with the leeks until the leeks are cooked and floppy but not to the point of limpness (3-5 minutes, I'd say). Then mix in the sun dried tomato paste and remove from the heat to a bowl.
In a small skillet, brown the pine nuts over high heat, moving constantly. (You can do this first if you want to use the same skillet for the leeks, but do this is in a DRY skillet, no oil or anything.) Don't burn the poor things.
Combine the beans, leeks, pine nuts, and parsley, and toss until everything is mixed and thoroughly coated. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
I got about five medium-sized portions out of this recipe; to make it into a main dish for four, I'd double the ingredients.
The flavor of the leeks comes through nicely without overwhelming the beans, and there's a rich taste joining the flavors together from the garlic and nuts and sun dried tomatoes; the parsley adds a fresh accent to the combination. A fairly successful experiment.
