Try this leek patties recipe for the Passover / Pesach festival. Recipes for leek patties vary between Jewish communities in different countries, but they are traditional Passover / Pesach recipes for Jews who live in Greece and Turkey and are created by Jews in other southern European countries as well.

"Kyeftes de Prasa" taken together means "leek patties" in Ladino, which is a Jewish dialect that is primarily a mixture of Spanish and Hebrew, spoken by Spanish Jews when they were living in Spain prior to the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, although there are also words taken from Arabic and Portuguese in Ladino as well. More specifically, "Kyeftes", "Kifticas", or "Keftedes" ("Kifte" in Turkish; "Keftas" or "Keftes" in Greek) means "patties" or "pancakes" in Ladino, and "Prasa" or "Prassa" ("Prasaa" in Greek) means "leeks" in Ladino. Since the late 15th century, Sephardic Jews (Jews whose ancestors came from either Spain and/or Portugal) have migrated to the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) and Greece among other countries and have created many different types of recipes for leek patties. Sephardim (alternate spelling: Sefardim; plural form of "Sephardi" or "Sefardi"; descriptive form: "Sephardic" or "Sefardic") who have migrated to North America have brought many variations of leek pattie recipes with them.

Leek Patties Recipe (Kyeftes de Prasa Recipe)

6-7 medium leeks
3 small onions
3 eggs
1/2 cup matzo meal
1/4 cup instant potato flakes, or 1 medium boiled potato, mashed
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions for the Leek Patties recipe / Kyeftes de Prasa recipe:

  1. Rinse leeks and remove roots and damaged greens. Split leeks lengthwise and chop both white and green parts into 1-inch (2.54-centimeter) pieces (Some cooks use only the white and tender green portions.).
  2. Place in a large bowl of water and agitate to remove all sand from the leeks.
  3. Drain and repeat if needed. You should have about 10 cups.
  4. Peel and coarsely chop the onions. You should have about 2 cups.
  5. Place leeks and onions in a large pot.
  6. Add 2 to 3 cups water, enough to cover the vegetable about halfway.
  7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer about a half-hour or until the leeks are very soft and easily smashed between the fingers.
  8. Drain the vegetables (the liquid is excellent for soup or stock) and let cool slightly.
  9. Chop finely.
  10. Place in a medium bowl.
  11. Add eggs, matzo meal, potato flakes or mashed potato, salt and pepper. Mix well. The batter should be stiff; add more matzo meal if it is runny.
  12. Heat a thin layer of oil in frying pan on medium-high. Form patties 2-3 inches (or 5.08-centimeters-to-7.62-centimeters) in diameter and 1/4-inch (or 0.64-centimeters) thick.
  13. Fry 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, turn and fry 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  14. Do not crowd in the pan.
  15. Drain on paper towels.
  16. Keep warm until ready to serve.
  17. Patties may be frozen in a single layer on cookie sheet, then removed and stored in airtight bags or containers.
  18. Reheat on cookie sheet in preheated 325-degree Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius or Centigrade) oven for about 20 minutes.

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