Winter's best: a love of leeks
My best-ever leek recipe, Matariki, and more Good Vibes energy!
Kia ora friends,
It’s an exciting time of year for us in Aotearoa, especially as we look to celebrate Matariki, our national holiday, next weekend. As with any celebration, the gathering of friends and whānau should always involve the sharing of delicious kai as a way for us to connect to each other. Every family has their own traditions around celebration food, but if you’re looking for some Matariki-specific inspiration, I’ve shared some links at the bottom of this week’s newsletter to Matariki recipes crafted by some of our country’s best home cooks - be sure to check them out!
I’ve had some feedback over the past fortnight that people are loving the seasonal focus I bring to the newsletter - especially given the rising costs of fresh produce. Eating seasonally has never been more important, and the benefits extend far beyond the eater’s pocket - seasonal food is often locally grown, which usually means it has a smaller carbon footprint, and it’s also more nutrient-dense due to its freshness. Eating seasonally is good for our individual health, and the health of the planet.
Each week, before I write my newsletter and the recipes that feature, I always scout the local supermarkets to figure out which ingredients I can encourage you to use to get the best bang for your buck. As such, this week I’ve chosen the humble leek as the newsletter’s focus vegetable - you’ll notice it’s recently come into season with prices dropping accordingly, and its versatility makes it an excellent vegetable to include in your kitchen repertoire.
Make sure you scroll down to this week's MOOD BOOSTER recipe, as it will absolutely change the way you think about leeks - they can be the hero vegetable! But of course, they’re also great to use as a base or filler for soups, stews, curries and the like. My top tip when cooking with leeks is to cook them longer than usual before adding other ingredients - about 15 minutes with some olive oil or butter over medium heat - as this allows them to fully soften and start to caramelise a little, which amps up their flavour. In fact, a simple but delicious dish is cooking leeks as described above, adding some garlic, thyme, salt and pepper at the end, then tossing through some freshly cooked spaghetti for an easy-yet-satisfying 20-minute meal.
Given we’re in the depths of winter now, I figured a decent soup recipe was in order this week, so here’s my recipe for Smoky leek, lime + sweetcorn soup. This Mexican-inspired soup ticks all the boxes. Its smoky deliciousness and mild heat comes from ancho chillies, Mexican dried poblano chillies that can be found at most specialty food stores. It’s filled with so much winter goodness, with a soffritto base of onion, celery & carrot, hearty black beans, caramelised leeks, juicy corn, and fresh lime. It’s sure to become a new winter favourite.
Time seems to sneak up on us, and unbelievably it’s now less than a month until my debut cookbook Good Vibes is released to the world! Some of you may have seen on Instagram that I’m doing a book tour across NZ in the first half of August to celebrate its release. I’m so excited to either catch up with or meet some of you at these events if I’m coming to a town near you. I’m also collaborating with independent local booksellers and some other awesome creatives as part of this tour, including musicians, health advocates, food writers and ceramicists - and there will be plenty of deliciousness too. Here’s a list of dates and locations to add to your calendar if you’re nearby (all events are free except the special Auckland event - click here to book your tickets, limited places available):
Friday 4 August - Dunedin
Good Vibes Dunedin Launch Party - Heritage Coffee from 5.30pm, with University Book Shop and live music from Bethany Taane + Lara Rose. Click here for more event info.
Tuesday 8 August - Wellington
Book signing @ Moore Wilson’s, 9.30am - 11am
Author Talk @ Unity Books with Lucy Corry, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Wednesday 9 August - Havelock North
Panel Discussion: Eating Well + Feeling Good - Peak House from 5.30pm, with Wardini Books. Panel includes Emma Sage, Dr Ali Coleman and Samantha Northcott. Click here for more event info.
Thursday 10 August - Napier
Author talk at Nigel’s Cookbook Club @ Wardini Books, Napier, 6pm. Click here for more event info.
Friday 11 August - Auckland
Cookbook Launch - Good Vibes by Alby Hailes - Little Bird Kitchen (Ponsonby) from 5.30pm, with Time Out Bookstore and book-contributing NZ ceramicists. Tickets $29. Ticket includes alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage on arrival and a selection of delicious bites from the book. Click here to get your tickets.
One last thing for this week I wanted to share - below is a sneak peek picture of one of my favourite recipes from the book - to whet your appetite for the deliciousness to come. Cilbir eggs with curry leaves + saffron yoghurt - thanks to the extraordinary Aaron Mclean for the amazing photography.
Much love,
Alby xx
This week’s MOOD BOOSTER:
Best-ever leeks with maple walnuts + chilli-garlic butter
All humbleness aside, every now and then I create a recipe that absolutely blows me away. And this leek recipe is just that. Such was my satisfaction on first tasting this dish that I almost thought to keep the recipe all to myself - in fact if I release another cookbook in the future, without a doubt this recipe (or an iteration of it) will need to feature! Leeks are rarely cooked as a centrepiece vegetable - more often than not they are used as a background base for soups and sauces. Here, we see them placed front and centre, their mellow sweetness brought forward through a gentle braising in white wine and Dijon mustard, and then elevated with an easy chilli-garlic butter and crunchy, sweet and salty walnuts. Leeks never looked this good.
serves 6 as a side
Ingredients:
3 large leeks, white and pale green part only, ends trimmed
1 handful fresh thyme sprigs, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
250ml white wine
150ml coconut cream
50ml olive oil
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tsp sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
½ tsp cracked black pepper
75g walnuts, roughly chopped
1 ½ tbsp maple syrup
Chilli-garlic butter
150g softened room-temperature butter or vegan spread (e.g. olivani)
½ tsp ground chilli
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp ground paprika
½ tsp cracked black pepper
¼ tsp sea salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced (or 180°C conventional). Line an oven tray with baking paper.
To prepare the leeks, cut each leek in half lengthways and then in half horizontally. You should have 12 pieces of leek. Place the leeks, cut side facing upwards, in a single layer in a large roasting dish and scatter over the thyme sprigs. The leeks should fit quite snugly into the dish. In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, white wine, coconut cream, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper and 150ml boiling water. Pour the liquid evenly over the leeks, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes until the leeks are mostly softened and tender.
For the maple walnuts, place the walnuts on the lined oven tray in a single layer. Drizzle over the maple syrup and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden, sticky and caramelised. Set aside to cool fully, then break up into pieces with your hands.
For the chilli-garlic butter, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a spatula until smooth and well combined. Set aside until ready to serve.
To finish the leeks, remove the foil and return to the oven uncovered for 30 minutes, at which stage the tops of the leeks will be starting to caramelise and turn golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
To serve, using a spatula, carefully transfer the braised leeks to a lipped serving platter. Dollop tablespoons of the chilli-garlic butter onto the warm leeks, so that it starts to melt into them. Finish with a generous sprinkling of the maple walnuts, and some extra thyme. Serve warm.
Best of the season this fortnight (NZ):
Brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli)
Kiwifruit
Brussels sprouts
Limes
Lemons
Yams
Leeks
Kitchen music of the moment:
This past week I learned that Dunedin plays host to an annual The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, an event globally recognised by fans of Kate Bush to commemorate her chart-topping 1978 debut hit. I think it would be rude not to participate in the occasion this year - for those in Ōtepoti it’s happening at the Octagon on the 15th July. With this in mind, I thought I’d share a lesser known but listening-worthy track from Kate Bush’s sixth studio album, This Woman’s Work.
I’m still yet to see Bon Iver live - they were meant to come to NZ a couple of years ago but the pandemic pushed those plans aside. Justin Vernon’s indie folk band has been a main-player in the genre for the past 15 years, and while my favourite album of theirs is their latest i,i (especially the single Hey, Ma), recently I’ve been enjoying their 2009 track Blood Bank. Have a listen below.
Interesting reads:
I recently attended a panel discussion on the future of food in Aotearoa, with representatives from 5 of the National Science Challenges (government-funded programmes to tackle NZ’s biggest science-based challenges) - if you haven’t heard of them, read what they’re all about here
Matariki is fast approaching, and as with any celebration, the sharing of delicious kai is paramount. Try Christall Lowe’s Kūmara & orange cake and Oven cooked Hāngī kono or Naomi Toilalo’s keke and fry bread recipes for your Matariki spread!
And for those who are new to Matariki as a concept, here's a succinct summary
Government funding for food waste reduction projects
If you’re looking for the ultimate winter dessert, try my GF Mulled wine, pear + chocolate torte
My debut cookbook, Good Vibes: Eat well with feel-good flavours, is coming in August!! Click on the image above to pre-order your copy now!!