Make Oltenian mâncare de praz cu măsline: tender leeks baked with olives in a simple tomato-vinegar sauce.
Mâncare de praz cu măslineAn Oltenian home dish of soft leeks and dark olives, bound with a light tomato-vinegar sauce.
Mâncare de praz cu măsline is a Romanian leek preparation associated with Oltenia. The name is descriptive: praz means leek, măsline means olives, and mâncare can refer broadly to a cooked dish served at the table. It is not a soup. The defining combination is leek and olive in a gently tangy tomato sauce, cooked until the vegetables are soft and the sauce clings lightly rather than pooling like broth.
A useful historical reference is recipe 493 in Sanda Marin’s Carte de bucate. Her short formula calls for a good bunch of leeks, 150 grams of olives, three tablespoons of oil, a teaspoon of flour, a tablespoon of tomato paste, a teaspoon of vinegar and salt. The method blanches the leek, browns it in oil, makes a flour-thickened tomato and vinegar sauce, bakes the leek with that sauce and adds briefly blanched olives near the end. The book says its recipes serve six people.
The source is concise and leaves several practical details open. It does not weigh the bunch of leek or state a water amount, oven temperature or baking duration. This version measures the cleaned leek at 600 grams and the sauce water at 250 millilitres so a home cook can repeat it. The 180 °C oven and the time ranges are also practical editorial settings. They should not be mistaken for measurements printed by Marin. The historical ingredient list and sequence remain the basis of the recipe.
Choose firm leeks with white and pale-green stalks. Remove the root and coarse tops, then rinse between the layers; grit often hides where the leaves overlap. Cutting the stalks into short, even pieces makes them easier to blanch, brown and serve without breaking. Blanching begins the softening in salted water. Drain thoroughly afterward, since water carried into the baking dish can make the sauce thin and dilute its flavor.
The leek should be tender but recognizable as separate pieces. A brief turn in hot oil adds a little color and savory depth. Handle it gently with a spoon or tongs so the stalks do not collapse. A broad skillet gives the pieces room; if your pan is small, brown them in two batches. The source says to brown the leek, but does not demand a deep crust. Pale gold edges are enough.
The sauce starts with a small roux: flour stirred into the remaining oil, then loosened gradually with water. Add the tomato paste and vinegar and stir until no dry flour remains. The result should be smooth and pourable, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but not a paste. The vinegar gives a mild, clean edge to the sweetness of cooked leek and tomato. Keep the sauce simple; onion, garlic, herbs and bay leaves occur in some later household variations but are not in the locked historical formula used here.
Pour the sauce over the browned leek and bake until the pieces finish softening. The recipe uses an uncovered dish so moisture can evaporate and the sauce can reduce slightly. Check the leeks near the lower end of the time range. Their size, initial blanch and baking dish all affect how quickly they become tender. If the top begins to dry before the leek is ready, cover loosely for the remaining few minutes; do not add extra ingredients to compensate.
Olives are added late because they need only brief heating and can become overly salty if cooked for a long time in a reduced sauce. A short blanch rinses some surface brine from them. Drain well, scatter them among the leek pieces, and return the dish to the oven for a final short bake. Taste an olive before salting the recipe. Brine levels differ by brand, and the source’s salt is best understood as an amount adjusted to taste.
Serve the dish warm, with the sauce spooned over each portion. It can sit briefly before serving, which gives the tomato and vinegar time to settle into the leek, but it is not meant to be a chilled salad. Bread is a simple accompaniment if you want one. The cooked leek should be soft and mild, the olives should remain distinct, and the sauce should taste lightly tangy rather than sharply acidic or salty.
This measured version is vegetarian and contains no meat, fish or dairy. The historical recipe is short, so regional cooks have adapted it in different ways over time. This page keeps the defining leek, olive, oil, flour, tomato and vinegar combination together and separates modern household measurements from the source’s stated quantities. That approach preserves the recipe’s documented character while making the cooking sequence clear for a present-day kitchen.
Trim away the roots and tough dark-green tops. Split any thick stalks lengthwise and rinse between the layers, where grit can collect. Cut the cleaned leeks into pieces about 3 cm long so they hold their shape during blanching and baking.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the leek pieces and blanch for 5–7 minutes, until they begin to soften but are not falling apart. Drain them very well in a colander; excess water would thin the sauce.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the drained leek in a single layer where possible and turn it gently for 4–6 minutes, just until lightly golden at the edges. Transfer it carefully to an oven-safe dish.
Warm the remaining tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds without letting it darken. Whisk in the water gradually, then add the tomato paste and vinegar. Simmer briefly, stirring, until smooth and loose enough to coat a spoon.
Pour the sauce evenly over the leek and turn the pieces gently to coat them. Bake uncovered in a preheated 180 °C / 350 °F oven for 25–30 minutes, until the leek is fully tender and the sauce has thickened lightly around it. The oven setting and timing are practical home instructions; the historical recipe does not specify them.
Near the end of baking, briefly blanch the drained olives in boiling water for 2–3 minutes, then drain. Add them to the dish and bake for about 10 minutes more. Taste before adding salt, then serve the leek and olives warm, with the thickened sauce spooned over them.
Let the blanched pieces sit in a colander for a few minutes. Excess water can make the sauce runny.
Leek becomes fragile as it softens. Use a broad spoon and avoid stirring repeatedly while it bakes.
Olive brine varies. Add salt only after the olives have warmed in the finished sauce.
The 600 g cleaned leek weight, 250 ml water and 180 °C home-oven setting are measured editorial choices because the historical recipe leaves those quantities unspecified.
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| The leeks fall apart | Blanch only until they begin to soften, drain them well and turn gently. The cut pieces should still hold their shape before baking. |
| The sauce is too thin | Continue baking uncovered for a few minutes so moisture can evaporate. Next time, drain the leek longer before combining it with the sauce. |
| The dish tastes too salty | Olives carry different amounts of brine. Blanch them briefly, drain well and wait until the end to add any salt. |
| The sauce tastes too sharp | Stir a spoonful of hot water through the sauce and warm the dish for a few minutes. Keep the measured vinegar amount in future batches. |
The leeks soften further as they rest. Store them with the sauce so they stay moist.
Transfer leftovers to a shallow covered container and refrigerate within 2 hours. Use within 3–4 days.
Freeze cooled portions in an airtight container for 3–4 months for best quality. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator; the leeks may be softer.
Reheat gently in a covered pan or oven until steaming throughout. Add a small splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.
It is a Romanian leek-and-olive dish associated with Oltenia. Leeks are blanched, lightly browned, baked in a simple tomato-vinegar sauce and finished with olives.
The ingredient combination and core sequence follow recipe 493 in Sanda Marin’s Carte de bucate. The exact leek weight, water volume and home-oven settings here are measured editorial adaptations because the historical recipe leaves them unspecified.
Yes. Remove the pits before adding them and keep the total drained olive weight close to 150 g. Warn diners if any pits remain.
You can bake it ahead and refrigerate leftovers promptly in a covered container. Reheat until steaming throughout; the leeks will soften further as they rest.
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