Cooking with Leeks

My good friend Nan has a farm share and lucky for me, is apt to share her bounty with me. This past week, I was given a bag overflowing with fresh purple onions (mmm) and leeks. Having never cooked with leeks before, I wasn’t sure what to do with them. After some googling, though, I felt confident in both the cleaning process and in their preparation.

First, the cleaning. Its important to clean leeks thoroughly because the many complex, tasty and crisp layers (I’m very much like a leek, actually) tend to trap a bunch of dirt.

To make the veggie easier to work with, its necessary to do a bit of trimming. The green ends can be a bit tough and you can chop them fairly close to the root, making sure to leave the tender few inches of green shoots. On the bulb-end of the leek, trim off the roots. Then, cut down the middle of the stem all the way through.

This will leave you with a clear view of the aforementioned layers that you can then dismantle and wash thoroughly with cold water.

While leeks are most often used in soups to lend a slightly less intense onion flavor, I decided that I wanted to sautee them until slightly crispy to use them in a stir fry of sorts. I was so happy with my decision. With just a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, the smell and taste of the sauteed leeks was just amazing. They became a bit browned and crispy and oh so good.

To make it a meal, I added some tempeh and quinoa and added a bit of bbq sauce for more flava. It was delicious and simple and earthy. Yum.

Verdict? Leeks are delicious. Thanks for introducing them to me, Nan!