Braised leeks in creamy lemon sauce

A great vegetarian/vegan recipe with the leeks being the star of the dish! It is so versatile because, in this way of cooking, you can prepare almost all types of Winter or Spring time vegetables: cauliflower, cabbage, courgettes, sweet peas and even potatoes

Recipe of Dimitris Andreou,

from "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4 people):
1Kg of  medium leeks
½ tea-cup of olive oil
½ glass of water
1 bunch of fresh fennel fronds, finely snipped
1 tbsp of all-purpose flour
1 lemon, the juice
salt
pepper

Method:
Clean, wash and cut the leeks into thick pieces.

In a wide pot warm the oil in medium-high heat and sauté the leeks, stirring frequently, until they get evenly coloured on all sides.

Add the fennel fronds, the water and season well with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover the pot with it's lid and simmer the leeks until they are tender and cooked through. Don't be harsh with stirring so the leeks will keep their shape.

In a small bowl mix the flour with the lemon juice and a ladleful of the food juices. Stir well so the flour is dissolved completely and you end up with a rather thin mixture.

Pour the mixture over the leeks and shake the pot in a circular mode so it goes everywhere. Put the pot back on the cooker ring and simmer for a couple more minutes.

Take off the heat and serve immediately while the leeks are still hot and the sauce nice and thick.