I love leeks although they have to be one of the most under rated readily available vegetables we have. The reason they are not used, I think, really comes down to understanding how to use them and what to make with them. That being said, let me share a few of my favorite leek recipes
What are leeks?
Just by looking at this vegetable, it’s pretty obvious which family it belongs to—the allium family, more commonly known as the onion family
I always though that it looks like a giant spring onion except that it has flat leaves instead. Which honestly it does, with its dark green top and white base. But despite its similar appearance they are two different vegetables.
Leeks has a much milder flavour than other onions and tend to enjoyed when cooked especially with butter or oil.
The dark green tops though tend to be tough so it is best to cut these off and discard them. We just want to enjoy the white and pale green parts of the leek.
How to clean a leek?
They tend to accumulate dirt between outer leaves, this means that they will need to be thoroughly washed before using them.
Let me share the easiest easiest way to clean a leek.
- Begin by cutting away the bottom where the roots are and the dark woody tops.
- You then want to slice the leek in half vertically.
- Holding the leek together run cold water down its center. You can see what I mean in the image below.
- You may need to peel pack some of the outer leaves to get to the dirt that is trapped within.
- This may take a little while just go layer by layer until they are clean.
- Repeat this process with any other leeks that you are using.
- They are now clean and ready to be used for whichever recipe you are making.
Leek and potato soup
Growing up creamy leek and potato soup was my all time favourite soup. It has a beautiful mild flavour that is wonderfully rich and thick.
If you are a fan of cream of soups then this is a great soup to try out. It is also a great one for children. As I said it was my favourite growing up too. The reason for it being such a popular soup choice is because it has such a mild taste to it, children do tend to prefer simple plain foods when they are younger.
Soups like this are also a good way to get lovely wholesome nutrients into your diet. The ingredients are simple, cheap and easy to find in most grocery stores.
Ingredients you will need for the soup include:
- Yellow onion
- Leeks
- Potatoes
- Chicken or vegetable broth
- Whipping cream
- Optional: Bacon bits and parsley
You can find the full recipe linked just below.
Baked Leeks in a white sauce
This is my most requested recipe. It is another that I grew up enjoying my mum would make it on Sundays to go with a roast dinner.
It is a perfect side dish for any roast dinner. Whether you like beef, chicken, pork or vegetable based roast dinners these creamy leeks will pair perfectly.
The main element of this recipe is in the bechemel sauce, once you have mastered that then the rest of the recipe is very simple to make.
Ingredients for the creamy baked leeks
- Butter
- Leeks
- Flour
- Milk
- Mustard powder
Find the full recipe below. Make it your go to side dish.
Vegan French Style Braised Leeks
This is a perfect recipe for any vegans out there. Most recipes do tend to include a lot of butter and usually some sort of cheese making it hard if you do have some sort of dietary restrictions.
Cooking with Camilla’s recipe calls for oils, vinegars and nutritional yeast to enhance the flavour of the leeks instead of using butter and cheese.
These French style leeks are so soft and buttery and this recipe will make for a great side dish.
Ingredients needed
- Leeks
- Oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Garlic
- Nutritional yeast
Find the link to the full recipe below.
Shepherd’s Pie with Cheese Crusted-Leeks
This is a recipe by a popular English cook Delia Smith. She has wonderful easy recipes that always work. There’s a phrase we like to use when making one of her recipes and it is “doing a Delia” we love her recipes.
This recipe is a great idea for sprucing up your shepherd’s pie. The topping can tend to be a little plain in comparison to its rich base which is nice. But by adding cheese and leeks to the potatoes it bring out the flavour complementing the meat filling.
This recipe is made with ground lamb which makes it a true shepherd’s pie, but it can also be made with ground beef.
Fun fact! If the pie is made with beef it is actually called a cottage pie
Ingredients for the shepherd’s pie
- Ground lamb or beef
- Onions
- Carrots
- Suede or turnip
- Cinnamon
- Thyme and parsley
- Flour
- Lamb or beef broth
- Tomato puree
- Leeks
- Potatoes
- Cheddar cheese
You can find the link to the recipe below or find it in her how to cook cookbook book two.
Lemony Leek Orzo
If you have never heard of orzo then this may be a new recipe for you to try out. Orzo is a pasta that in my opinion looks like giant flakes of rice. It is a fantastic choice for this kind of recipe. It is also fantastic cold as a pasta salad.
This is another recipe that can be made a couple of ways, either vegetarian or vegan. They call for nutritional yeast but you can use parmesan in its place. The same applies for the milk they call for cashew milk but cows milk would work also, although I do love the creamy nuttiness of cashew milk.
Ingredients for the lemony orzo
- Orzo
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Italian herbs
- Cumin
- Milk
- Butter
- Lemon
- Butter beans
- Spinach
- Nutritional yeast
Find the link to the full recipe just below.
The bottom line is that leeks are a wonderful vegetable to add to your diet. The recipe that you find them in tend to be very simple and also kid friendly. If you are a gardener why not try to grow your own this year, you cannot beat the flavour from homegrown.
Why not go out and give this vegetable a try and see for yourself how amazing it is. I am sure that if you do you will fall in love with it like I have. Happy cooking.
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