Dilled Brocoli and Leek Puree

For Thanksgving, we had 3 vegetable side dishes, plus dressing and mashed potatoes. This was one of the three vegetables. A recipe I hadn't made before, and I loved it. Very simple. And fairly low in fat besides. I wouldn't exactly call it purely healthy, but there are only 11 grams of fat per serving. Not too bad.

I've mentioned before that I use MasterCook 9 for my recipe software. It was developed by Sierra products, but now is owned by a company that doesn't provide much customer service or support. So, a couple of years ago when I was working toward printing my own cookbook, I needed more help than the help screens were offering. I found a message board kind of place, a Yahoo group, where I could post questions and get really helpful answers for some of my complicated cookbook problems. (FYI: I never did print the cookbook, having decided to start this blog instead.) In reading the boards I discovered a site that offers recipes already formatted in MasterCook (another Yahoo group called MC Taste_Tested), so it's a very easy thing to import them into my program. People from all over the country load recipes there every day. It got to be too much reading, though, so have since stopped receiving the compilation every day. But this recipe came from that source, and I have no idea to whom I owe the credit. Doing a Google search provided nothing with the same or similar name. So, I tip my hat to some unknown person who uploaded this recipe.

This can be made ahead with no difficulty, and heated up in the microwave if you're short on time. The original recipe is just warmed on the stovetop, but I didn't want to do that for our Thanksgiving dinner. So I just put it into a oil-sprayed baking dish, refrigerated it overnight, then heated in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes, with platic wrap intact. DH liked this vegetable the best.

Dilled Broccoli and Leek Puree
Servings: 8
4 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 pounds leeks -- halved, washed, sliced
1 large russet potato -- peeled, quartered
1 pound broccoli -- stems and florets
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh dill -- minced

Salt and pepper to taste
1. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until very soft, about 20 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning. You do not want the leeks to brown.
2. Cook potato in boiling water until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in broccoli stems and cook for 5 minutes. Add broccoli florets and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Drain. Puree leeks, potato and broccoli in a food processor. Add cream and dill, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Transfer mixture to a saucepan to keep warm, or pour into an oil-sprayed baking dish. May be refrigerated at this point and kept up to 2 days. Bring to room temp before continuing.
4. Heat in microwave for 4-5 minutes, until heated through. Sprinkle top with additional dill, if desired.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 132 Calories; 11g Fat (70.4% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 33mg Cholesterol; 86mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 Fat.

To print a PDF recipe, click title at top.