My latest obsession is trying out new foods in the produce aisles! Okay I don't actually try them out IN the produce aisle. I wait until I get home. The foods that I am talking about aren't actually "new" foods either. However, having grown up in the deep south, there are many fresh fruits and vegetables that Grandma didn't use! This week, I bought about six leeks and decided that I would learn all that I could about this vegetable that looks like a southern green onion on steroids!
It may look like a green onion but it is actually a sheep in wolf's clothing! I would have thought that the great big leek would pack a huge onion flavor! A bit of online research tells me that the leek has a very mild flavor and is a good "onion" when you want the onion to take a back seat to other flavors. I have also learned a couple of other bits of information about the leek. Leeks were once prized by the Greeks and Romans because they thought that they were good for the throat. They were introduced to Great Britain by the Romans. Leeks are very familiar to British cooks as they are a common vegetable in that region. Their weather is particularly conducive to growing leeks. This is probably the reason that leeks never really caught on in Alabama. Leeks like cold weather and loose soil, neither of which are abundant down here! Leeks are very nutritious. They are a good source of folate and B vitamins. I found a really good overview of the nutrition and basic cooking techniques for leeks on a website called World's Healthiest Foods.
The main thing that I learned about leeks in my research is that they are dirty little buggers!! Almost every description of leeks mentions how thoroughly they need to be cleaned in order to avoid being gritty! I am glad for the information because my leeks look perfectly clean on the outside! I would have simply washed the outside. There are two ways that I found to clean leeks, depending on how you plan to cut them for use.
Before washing, cut off the dark green tops. Most sites suggest disposing of these leaves, but I did find one home chef that says she uses them whole to flavor slow cooking soups and stews. If you plan to use large pieces of the leek, take your knife and split it almost to the root. Gently pull it open and allow running water to rinse between all of the layers.
If you plan to slice the leek, go ahead and thinly slice it. Place it all in a deep bowl of cold water and swish it around in the bowl. Allow it to sit for at least five minutes and allow the grit to settle into the bottom of the bowl. Next, skim the leek gently off of the top of the water, being careful not to disturb the grit at the bottom!
Now, how am I going to cook these things?? The World's Healthiest Foods site lists a simple way to saute the leeks. I used this method to cook one of the leeks. While I enjoyed eating my leek prepared this way, I didn't think it would be particularly tasty to my family, not to mention it looks like onions, which would be an instant turn-off to my kids! I do recommend this method and plan to experiment in the future. I am thinking that this would be a great side if finely diced carrots were added along with a flavored olive oil in the saute.
In my web travels, it seems that potato leek soup is the standard recipe for utilizing leeks. I am wanting to go in a different direction so I look for something that will make the leek the "star" of the dish. I went ahead with a soup because it seems that leeks and soup are a natural! The dish I prepared was Cock-A-Leekie Soup from Allrecipes.com. Sure, I liked that the name would inspire curiosity on the kids' part. But I liked the idea of a chicken soup on a gray day like today! This was a fabulous dish and the whole family loved it. I will say that I didn't taste the leek in the dish. But I guess, with leeks, that is the point. Leeks give a more subtle nod to onion flavor and brighten the dish. Onions are the lead singer and leeks provide the back-up "ooooooooooooh" notes that make the lead singer sound better. I will definitely use them again!
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