Leeks and Soup

The range of fresh vegetables available in Estonian supermarkets in the winter is not great, but one of our standbys has been leeks. We had remarked on the impressive size of the average Estonian leek, and then a couple of weeks ago I read the following on an Estonian food website:
"I realised last week that 'thick leeks' in Scotland must be much smaller than 'thick leeks' in Estonia. ... The recipe prescribed 6 'long, thick leeks', which I dutifully bought. However, after halving and rinsing and slicing just three of these monster leeks, I realised I already had more than enough."

Chloe and I strolled up the left bank of Tartu’s main river, the Emajoe, on Tuesday and into the part of Tartu known as “Suppelinn” – literally, “Soup Town.” Historically, this was a slum neighborhood of Tartu, with poorly constructed wooden houses built on low-lying land next to the river that was prone to flooding every Spring. Apparently the name comes from the fact that all the streets in the area are named after vegetables – there’s Potato Street, Cabbage Street, Carrot Street, etc. The reason for this is that the area used to contain allotments (small vegetable gardens). In the picture below, “Hernes” means “Pea.” I’m not sure what “Marja” means.


The area still has a run-down feel to it – though it hardly qualifies as a “slum”. The houses are still predominently made of wood, and most of the roads are unpaved. But it has a picturesque, old-fashioned sort of feel to it, and it made for an interesting walk.



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