Thursday, February 26, 2009

Another recipe with leek - "prasato"

As promised, now is the time for a recipe that includes both leeks and meat. More specifically, it is a hearty pork and leeks stew or, as known in Greece, "prasato". It is great comfort food for the winter. If you like to do this the Greek-way-all-the-way, try it with feta cheese, cut in pieces and added inside the pot, only 2 minutes before serving!


Prasato





Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking time: 1 h 55 mins
Ready in: 2 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 6


Ingredients:
  • 1 kg (2 pounds) boneless pork, cut into chunks
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 kgs (3 pounds) leeks
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 - 3 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon butter or lard


Directions:

  1. Trim the leeks, cut them lengthwise and then slice them. Rinse them well under running water.
  2. In a large pot, add the olive oil and brown the pork chunks (approximately 10 mins).
  3. Add the water and bring to a boil.
  4. Add the leeks, tomato sauce, bay leaves, pepper and red pepper flakes to the pot. Shake the pot a little bit, but do not stir.
  5. Simmer in low-heat for approximately 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender.
  6. When the meat is ready, add salt and one tablespoon of butter/lard in the pot. Let it melt for 2 minutes and then serve. Enjoy!

Why this dish - only because it tastes good, or is there another reason too?

Over the last years, there have been many researches which show that red meat (pork, veal, beef and lamb), if consumed often, significantly increases the risk of colon cancer. But the key-word here, is the word "often". It refers to a consumption that is greater than 1-2 times per week.

However, red meat, if consumed in moderation, has many health benefits as well. More specifically, it is a great source of protein, vitamin B (and particularly vitamin B12 and folic acid) and minerals and trace elements, such as zinc (Zn). All these actually mean that red meat is important to prevent anaemia, stimulate growth and development during pregnancy and childhood, and boost the immune system, thus protect us from diseases and accelerate wound healing.

All these, combined with the benefits pointed out in the previous posts about leeks and olive oil, prove that prasato not only tastes good, but it also does you good! So, if you are intrigued by now, see for yourself!

7 comments:

  1. Oh this looks good! My husband won't eat pork, though. Would chicken work? I've never cooked with leeks before and this may be the recipe for my first foray into using this culinary staple!

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  2. Good morning, 5th! First of all, sorry for any trouble that my blog may have caused you - I've been updating it a little, so any weirdness you may have noticed isn't your computer's fault, but my own. Anyway, this is over now. So... chicken, huh? Well, I have never tried it this way, but I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work - I would just adjust the cooking time, maybe simmer for 1/2 hour less or so. I did a quick research through Greek cooking sites, and people seem to add stuff, to avoid blandness. The most popular idea was to turn it into a chicken avgolemono soup (egg and lemon) in the end, or sprinkle with cheese and transfer into the oven, like a casserole. If any of these sounds interesting, I'll tell you the specifics.

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  3. I thought about it, and personally, I would go for the chicken substitution. In fact, I remembered the feta cheese - if you like feta cheese and add it to the pot before serving, giving it just 1 or 2 minutes to sligthly melt, it will be anything but bland.

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  4. Love Feta...always have it in the fridge. Thanks. Oh, I meant to congratulate you on your front page AR photo! Very pretty.

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  5. This sounds really good, thanks for sharing!

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  6. Actually, 5th, I will be more than happy to pass on your congratulations to my fiance. I always take the photos, and he always sets up the dishes (I call him "my sweet food-stylist"!) and this time, I think he deserves the praise more than me. We were thrilled to have so many votes!

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  7. Another award is making rounds...and I nominated...YOU!!! Please come by and pick it up!!!

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