Prassorizo
Leeks with rice, prassorizo in Greek is another wonderful winter dish of the lathera family. Homely Greek dishes, you won’t come by in any tavern. Unless it’s a really good one. 😉
Cooking with olive oil and a few good quality, seasonal ingredients is at the heart of Greek cooking. Come winter, lathera dishes come at the forefront and they transform the humblest winter vegetables into glorious bowls of goodness.
The most common of all this rice bowls is spanakorizo, with spinach. I have a very soft spot for cabbage rice as well, lahanorizo. But the list can go on to include just about any leafy vegetable, especially in winter.
The reason I love these dishes so much is their simplicity. You can put them together quickly, using just a few ingredients. For prasorizo, using only leeks will do an excellent job. But they are also extremely versatile, you can change the spices and the herbs and enjoy an entirely different dish, like with cabbage, known as kounoupidi kappama.
Regarding rice, any medium grain rice will do an excellent job. You can use your favourite arborio rice too.
Prassorizo, leeks with rice
Ingredients
- 4-5 leeks edges trimmed and thickly sliced
- 80 ml 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4-5 sprigs of dill chopped
- 1 teaspoons tomato paste
- 150 gr 1 cup medium grain rice uncooked
- 300 ml 1 ¼ cup boiling water more as needed
- salt and pepper as needed
- 1 Lemon for serving
Instructions
- After you wash and trim the leeks, chop them roughly.
- Heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the leeks. Sauté until leeks are soft (about 6-7 minutes).
- Stir in the dill and tomato paste, then add the rice and about 300 ml of hot water. Add salt and mix well.
- Cover the pot with its lid and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, until rice is soft. Make sure to check regularly and add additional hot water as needed.
- Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Serve as a main course with a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly ground pepper.
I hope this leeks and rice bowl keeps you warm and nourished!
from London with love,
Eugenia
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