Chickpea & Rice Stuffed Leeks in Aromatic Spiced Tomato Sauce
Intensely flavorful chickpea and rice stuffed leeks in a spiced tomato sauce that balances fresh herbaceous flavors and warming spices for a perfect comforting flavor balance.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 369kcal
Equipment
- Large roasting pan with lid that can go from stovetop to oven I used my Le Creuset braiser which is pictured and has a 3.3 liter / 3.5 quart capacity.
Ingredients
stuffed leeks
- 2 large leeks
- 0.5 cup short grain rice
- 1.5 cups chickpeas
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 5 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely diced
- 2 red chilies finely diced, optional
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried summer savory or substitute oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
tomato sauce
- 400 grams tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, 1 standard small can (around 15oz)
- 0.5 cup water optional, see recipe notes
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon allspice
- 2 dried bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F
- Finely dice the onions and mince the garlic, chili and cilantro.
prepare tomato sauce
- Sauté the diced yellow onion and minced garlic in the olive oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
- Add the tomato and seasonings and reduce heat to simmer while you prepare and stuff the leeks.
prepare leeks
- Cut the green tops off the leeks but try to keep them as long as possible.
- Use a knife to make a shallow cut in the sheath enough to be able to peel one leaf off. Repeat until the end then thoroughly wash each leaf.
- Heat a large pot of water on the stovetop. Blanche the leeks in batches for 20-30 seconds each until they soften. Set aside in a bowl.
assemble and bake
- Combine all the filling ingredients together in a bowl - if the mixture is very crumbly and not adhering together, then use a fork to mash the chickpeas a bit until the mixture holds together.
- Lay out the leek leaves - the larger ones should be big enough to stuff but you can line up a few of the smaller ones together (slightly overlapping).
- Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling onto each leek as shown in the photos (imagine the bottom of the leek as a square made up of two triangles - then fill the top triangle of that square with filling).
- Gently wrap the leek around the stuffing - don't worry if it isn't perfectly sealed.
- Lay each stuffed leeks out in the tomato sauce in the roasting pan.
- After you've stuffed all the leeks, cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- To get a bit of a golden hue to the leeks, put them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes after baking.