Chickpea & Rice Stuffed Leeks in Aromatic Spiced Tomato Sauce

🧂 Ingredients

• 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
• 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

• 1 Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F
• 2 Finely dice the onions and mince the garlic, chili and cilantro.
• 3 Sauté the diced yellow onion and minced garlic in the olive oil over medium-high
  heat until lightly browned.
• 4 Add the tomato and seasonings and reduce heat to simmer while you prepare and
  stuff the leeks.
• 5 Cut the green tops off the leeks but try to keep them as long as possible.
• 6 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.
• 7 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.
• 8 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.
• 9 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).
• 10 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).
• 11 Gently wrap the leek around the stuffing - don't worry if it isn't perfectly
  sealed.
• 12 Lay each stuffed leeks out in the tomato sauce in the roasting pan.
• 13 After you've stuffed all the leeks, cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake in
  preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• 14 To get a bit of a golden hue to the leeks, put them under the broiler for 2-3
  minutes after baking.

Nutrition Info