An S.O.S. For Late Winter Vegetables
February 19, 2004

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.  That’s how I feel lately as I survey the vast sea of produce before me in the supermarket.  Just like reruns of Titanic, broccoli and green beans are getting boring.   To be fair, we are very lucky- our local produce managers do a great job of bringing us amazing variety and quality throughout the year. It’s just in late winter when we start to daydream, even hallucinate, about buying fresh basil off the back of a truck at the farmer’s market.  It’s the mind’s way of keeping the body safe until the thaw.  So today in the market I took a deep breath and decided to bridge that gap to spring: I bought some winter sweet potatoes and some spring leeks and came up with a delicious combination that makes a refreshing vegetarian dinner, or, lovely side dishes for lamb. 

Sweet Potatoes Anna
- 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
- 8 ounces of shredded Gruyère cheese
- 1 cup half and half cream
- ½  teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves, red pepper flakes, and kosher salt
- ½ cup maple syrup

Topping: 2 slices whole grain sandwich bread, toasted and cooled.  2 T of toasted almonds or pecans, cooled.  In processor, pulse nuts and add toast.  Pulse in 2 T of cold butter until lightly combined.  

Peel and cut the potatoes in half.  Boil for 12 minutes, cool.

Butter a medium baking dish.  Slice cooled potatoes into disks and place half the potatoes in baking dish.  Cover with one half of the remaining ingredients.  Repeat the process with remaining ingredients and press down lightly to pack the dish. Bake potatoes at 350 degrees, covered, for 45 minutes.  Uncover and add topping, bake for 20 minutes more.  Serves 4-6.

Roasted Leeks
- 8-12 leeks, white and pale green portions only, cleaned
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 4 T olive oil
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and shredded
- a handful of fresh parsley or combination of fresh herbs, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

Place leeks in roasting dish, cover with stock, roast at 400 degrees.  Roast for 15 minutes, turning every 15 minutes until nicely browned up to 45 minutes.  Mix oil, mustard, and lemon juice together and adjust for taste with salt and pepper.  Place leeks on serving plates and drizzle lightly with dressing.  Add the herbs and eggs, and top with a grind of fresh pepper.  Serves 4-6.

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008